


Now What?

by Eicartgeorge



Series: Find My Way Back to You [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Multi, Scott and Stiles are Brothers, Stiles and Lydia messed up the timeline
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2018-04-14
Packaged: 2018-09-03 03:39:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 27
Words: 69,296
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8694985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eicartgeorge/pseuds/Eicartgeorge
Summary: This story is the continuation of It's Just a Matter of Time and picks up right as that one left off. This is the present day only version of Find My Way Back to You.





	1. What the Hell Are You Doing?

"What the hell are you doing?" Stiles yelled as he jerked Lydia back away from the nemeton.

_Bzzz!_

_Bzzz!_

"I don't know...I..."

_Bzzz!_

"God, what is that incessant buzzing?" Stiles looked around and patted his pants pockets. "Where the hell did my phone go?"

He scanned the ground and his eye caught it just Lydia bent over to pick it up. "Your girlfriend is calling you." She said as she held the phone out.

Stiles saw Allison's face right before the call ended and _Allison Argent: 3 Missed Calls_ popped up.

Stiles sighed as he took the phone. "Probably wondering where the hell we are because we were supposed to be at her house," Stiles looked at the time, "Ah, 10 minutes ago. When I tell her that I had to chase her best friend through the woods..."

"I used to be _your_ best friend." She said quietly. Stiles glanced up, a look of annoyance on his face as he prepared to fight, but he saw her sad expression.

He sighed. "Yeah, well shit happens." The phone began to buzz and vibrate again in his hand. Stiles quickly answered. "Hey, Ali."

"Oh my God!" Her worried tone came through the line and Stiles wanted to smile, but he was still kind of pissed that she bailed on picking Lydia up at the last minute, leaving him to do it. He'd rather be cleaning a toilet bowl with a toothbrush... and then use the toothbrush. "Where have you been? I've called you three times!" Stiles began to walk away.

"Sorry. I dropped my phone. Lydia had a..." He rolled his eyes "Banshee thing, and we're at the nemeton, but we're heading that way now."

"Okay, well be safe on the way over here."

"Yeah, we will be." Stiles was saying.

"Uh, Stiles." He heard Lydia's voice and rolled his eyes again.

"I'll see you when you get here. I love you."

"Alright. Love you too." He told her and hung up the phone then turned to look at Lydia. "What?"

"There's a-" Lydia turned her head and pointed.

"What?" Stiles asked again as he took a few steps toward her.

"There was somebody there a second ago."

Stiles looked over to where Lydia was pointing,. If there was something there before, there wasn't anything there now. Over the years, he'd learned to always trust Lydia's instinct. He didn't have to like the girl to know when they needed to get the hell out of there. He grabbed her arm, and began to pull her away. "Well, then let's just hurry and get out of here before he comes back."

"Wait," She stopped.

Stiles groaned. "What now?"

"I don't know...I just... I feel like I'm forgetting something."

"Yeah, you're forgetting how pissed Allison is going to be when we're not at her house in the next 15 minutes. Now, come on."

Stiles walked away leaving Lydia to trail behind him.

"So," Lydia tried to make conversation once they were back in the car. "Have you heard back from any colleges yet?" Stiles didn't answer her. Instead he turned the ignition over and hit the gas. Lydia sighed. "Well, _I_ heard back." Stiles didn't acknowledge her. "You'll be happy to know that most of the schools I applied to are on the East Coast. So, all you have to do is make it through two more months of school and two months of summer and then I'll be out of your hair. You'll never have to look at me again."

Stiles glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was looking out the window with her arms crossed. He couldn't see her face, but he was pretty sure she was crying.

He sighed. "I don't..." he started slowly. "I don't hate you...anymore."

Lydia scoffed and sniffed. "You could have fooled me."

"Well...I still can't stand to be around you, but I realize that just because we don't get along doesn't mean having you here isn't good for the pack as a whole. So no...I won't be happy if you move and I think you should go to a college nearby. Otherwise, you're just being selfish."

"Well, that was rude, but I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from _you._ "

Stiles shrugged. Nothing Lydia said hurt him anymore. "Hey, if this were about me I'd tell you do move to England, go to Oxford, travel the world, just get the hell away from me."

"Well, I'm glad I know how you really feel."

"Oh, suck it up, Lydia! You've known how I felt, you just keep hoping that I've changed my mind. Well, I haven't. "

"Stop the car." She told him as she gathered her things into her lap.

"Oh, no..." He said with a scoff as he shook his head. "We're not doing this again."

"Pull over, Stiles!"

"No! We're almost there."

"I said pull over!"

"And I said _no_! You don't always get what you want, Lydia!"

Lydia leaned her head against the window as hot tears burned in her eyes. He may not hate her anymore, but the more time she spent with him, the more she remembered why she hated him. Why she _still_ hated him. Although, there was a very fine line between love and hate, wasn't there?

Stiles had barely stopped the jeep in Allison's driveway when Lydia bolted from the vehicle. She opened the front door and slammed it behind her. Allison came around the corner ready to scold whoever had slammed the door when she saw Lydia breaking down. Her chest was rising and falling in sobs as she leaned against the wall next to the door.

"Lydia? What happened?"

Lydia shook her head and covered her mouth as she tried to suppress the sound she was making.

The front door opened and Stiles walked in and saw her standing there. "Oh yeah, slamming the door. Real mature, Lydia."

"You know what?" She said as she pushed herself off the wall and went to the stairs. "Fuck you, Stiles!" She yelled as she ran toward Allison's room.

"You already did!" He yelled back, then noticed the glare Allison was giving him before she ran after her friend.

Stiles took a deep breath as he heard a voice to his right. "So," Stiles turned his head and saw Isaac standing there. "How'd it go with Lydia?" Another door slammed somewhere upstairs.

Stiles balled his hand into a fist and was halfway through a lunge when a hand grabbed his arm.

"Stiles," Scott said, a warning in his tone of voice. Stiles turned to face Scott and looked at his glowing red eyes. "You need to calm down." To be honest, the glowing eyes still freaked him out a little and he immediately relaxed his fist and dropped his arm. A concerned look appeared on Scott's face. "Did you get hurt?"

"What?"

"I smell blood." Scott, looked at Stiles's arm. It was covered by a hoodie, but that was definitely where the smell was coming from. Stiles shrugged the jacket off to reveal a gash on his bicep. "How'd that happen?" Scott asked.

"I don't know. Maybe I sliced it on a branch or something."

"Without ripping your jacket?" Isaac asked.

Stiles glared up at the beta. "I don't know, _Isaac_. I was little preoccupied over the possibility of finding a dead body."

"Does it hurt?" Scott asked without touching it.

"Not really." Stiles said with a shake of his head.

"I can't tell if it's still bleeding or not." Scott told him. "Come with me and I'll help you clean it up."

Allison made it up the stairs just as Lydia closed Allison's door with a bang. She flinched. "God, you're so lucky Nic isn't home." She opened the door and saw Lydia laying on her bed. "Hey," she said softly as she sat down next to her friend on the bed and rubbed her back. "So, do you want to tell me what that was about?"

"Your boyfriend being an ass." Lydia sniffled.

"Well, I got that much." Lydia huffed. "What happened? I feel like we just went back in time like a year. You guys were fine."

Lydia laughed. "We _weren't_ fine, Allison. We were far from fine. We tolerated each other."

"So, then..."

"He reminded me why he shouldn't be tolerated."

"Did he call you a name? Because, I swear to God, Lydia...if he's starting that childish bullshit again I'll-"

"No." Lydia sighed and sat up. "He just called me selfish...which I am...so..."

"You're _not_ selfish. You're one of the least selfish people I know."

"Well, if that's the case, then the people you hang out with must be pretty self-absorbed." Allison smiled and wrapped her arms around her friend. Lydia sighed again. "I told him that I was looking at colleges on the East Coast."

Allison froze. "What?"

"He basically told me that if I was going there just to get away from him and not thinking about the pack, then I was being selfish. And he was right. I just didn't want to hear it. It started another fight. It was the most we'd said to each other in long time."

Allison let her go and looked at her friend. They were silent for a moment when they heard Stiles give a pained yell. The girls silently exchanged expressions, then shrugged. "Well, you still have a few months to think about it. If you decide you need to leave, I'll support you. Besides, that still doesn't excuse _that_ comment he made when you ran up." Lydia blushed slightly, remembering the one. "Especially in front of me."

"I think he was mad at both of us. I mean...you were the one who made him pick me up."

"Yeah, but that doesn't give him the right. He's going to get a mouth full later on."

Lydia groaned. "Why do I feel like that's going to turn into _you_ getting a mouth full."

"I'm sorry," Allison said, with a wide smile and small blush. "Are you _implying_ something?"

"I'm just saying that the two of you can't have a fight without it turning to sex. And most of the time it ends you with you _on your knees_ begging for mercy."

"That's not true!" Allison giggled.

"See?! You can't even keep a straight face about it!" Lydia replied, laughing along with her. Allison covered her face as it turned beet red and Lydia wiped her cheeks from where a few stray tears had fallen.

The two girls got quiet after a moment and Allison asked, "Are you okay now?"

Lydia nodded. "Yeah. Thanks."

"No problem." She smiled and stood, then held her hand out. "Come on. Party time."

* * *

"Here." Isaac said as he came back with a bandage. "I found Chris's stash. What was that noise I heard?"

Stiles gritted his teeth. "Peroxide hurts like a bitch."

"I had to clean the wound." Scott told him. "Especially since you didn't know how you got it." Allison and Lydia appeared in the kitchen and Allison's eyes flashed with worry.

"What happened?" She asked as she took a few steps toward him.

"I have no clue, but Scott's patching me up."

"Awe," She looked at him sympathetically, then leaned in like she was going to kiss him, but stopped right before. "Karma's a bitch." She backed away with a smirk and he glared for a moment. She turned to the Alpha, "Thanks for making him feel it, Scott."

Stiles gave an exasperated sigh. "I get it! I'm a dick."

"Well, I wasn't going to say anything..."Isaac murmured.

Stiles turned his glare toward the beta, then looked at Scott. "Seriously, _what_ is his purpose? Besides making me constantly want to hit him in his face."

"Guys! Come on!" Liam called from the other room. Stiles hopped down off of the counter and the five of them walked into the living room. Liam, Hayden, Corey and Mason were there waiting. Allison stood in front of everybody while the other four took a seat, Lydia sitting next to Hayden as far away as possible from Stiles, who sat on the other side next to Scott.

"So, now that everyone's here," She looked at Stiles. "And... put back together," She turned back to the rest of the group. "I wanted to thank everybody for coming to my mother's death day party."

Corey raised his hand, "Yeah... what exactly is a death day party?"

"For the those of you that aren't familiar with this story, my mom died when I was eleven so every year on the day of her death, instead of being sad, my dad and I would have a party. So tonight, we watch movies and pop popcorn and hang out with friends." Everyone silently looked between Stiles and Lydia. The two of them didn't notice. "The first movie we're going to watch is," Allison picked up the case on top. " _Dirty Dancing_."

"Uh..."Lydia cleared her throat. "Can we watch a different movie?"

Stiles raised his hand ."I agree with the banshee." Corey and Hayden exchanged glances because in the time they had known them, those two had never agreed on anything.

"Guys," Mason began. "What are you talking about? _Dirty Dancing_ is a classic!"

"We just watch it all the time." Lydia said.

"Yeah," Allison agreed. "Because it's one of my favorites. And this isn't about you."

"Yeah. Lydia," Stiles mumbled. "Stop being selfish."

Lydia jumped to her feet, and Stiles was up almost as fast.. "You know what, Stilinski?" She took a few steps toward him and Stiles took a giant step toward her before Liam and Scott jumped between the two. Liam, holding Lydia and Scott holding Stiles.

"You need to take a walk." Scott told his brother through bared teeth. Stiles's cheeks were flushed with anger as he jerked himself away from from Scott. He walked away and a few moments later they heard the backdoor close.

"If the movie is going to cause that much of an issue, then we won't watch it." Allison mumbled.

"No..."Lydia said softly as she sat back down. "I'm sorry. Go ahead." Allison wanted to say 'No' on principle, to make a point, but she really wanted to watch the movie.

"Okay." She couldn't hide her smile as she put the movie in.

* * *

Stiles stayed outside for awhile. He took a couple of laps around Allison's neighborhood and then paced in front of the back door. When he finally walked back into the living room _Time of Your Life_ was playing. Scott was laughing.

"Stiles did this dance for a talent competition. It was before our parents got married, but I think he won...I don't remember who he danced with."

"Lydia." He spoke. Everyone turned their heads to see him, but he made eye contact with the banshee. "I danced with Lydia. And we got 2nd." Lydia pursed her lips. "So, what's next?"

Allison looked over at Lydia, seemingly understanding why they didn't want to watch the movie, as she stood up and looked at the pile of DVDs. " _The Breakfast Club._ " She announced as she held the DVD case up.

"I'm sensing a pattern." Hayden said as she exchanged glances with Mason.

There was a pattern.

After _The Breakfast Club_ , they watched _Back to the Future,_ then _Ferris Bueller's Day Off._

"It's getting late." Liam announced when the fourth movie ended.

"Yeah,"Mason said, standing up. "Come on guys," He began, addressing the sophomores in the group. "Let's get you home." Mason, Corey, Hayden, and Liam said their goodbyes to the rest of the group and headed out.

"Lydia, I'll take you home." Scott told her. She nodded, relieved. Isaac walked out with them before going their separate ways. "So, tonight was interesting." Scott said when he got into the car.

Lydia nodded. "Yeah. Interesting is definitely _a_ word to describe it."

"How would you describe it?"

"Terrible. Although, I guess it could have gotten worse if you and Liam hadn't stepped in."

"Been there done that. God, you and Stiles fighting is the worst."

Lydia sighed. "Tell me about it. I keep wanting things to go back to the way they were, but too much has happened. I don't think we can ever be fixed again."

Scott shook his head. "I don't believe that. You two have too much history. You'll find your way back to each other. You always do."

"I admire your optimism. But I think sometimes you just have to admit defeat. And this is one of those things you can't come back from."

"What happened? I mean...if you don't mind me asking. It's like you drifted apart, then you guys stopped talking to each other and when you did talk all you did was fight, and then it ...escalated, but for awhile I thought things were okay."

"I told Allison the same thing earlier: Things were never okay. We used to hate each other, but now we don't. Well...he doesn't hate me. I still have some very strong feelings toward him."

"So, you're not going to tell me what happened?"

"He hasn't told you?" Lydia asked. Scott shook his head. "Then I won't either. Not keeping my mouth closed is sort of how it all spiraled out of control to begin with."

Scott nodded, then asked, "Does it have anything to do with the fact that you guys slept together?" Lydia turned her head to face him. "Everybody knows. There was a fight we all over heard once...and if they didn't know then, they know now after Stiles's comment earlier."

Lydia shook her head. "I'm sorry, Scott. I can't tell you."

Scott nodded again. "That's fine. I get it. If you want to talk though. I'm here for you when you're ready."

"Thank you." She told him. He pulled into her driveway shortly after. "Wow, I never realized how close I was to Allison's house. I guess I'm just used to making detours along the way." Scott chuckled. "Thanks again for the ride." She told him again and she made her way out of his car.

* * *

Allison closed the door behind the werewolves and the banshee as they left her house. When she turned back around Stiles was still sitting on the couch, watching the menu screen play over and over.

Allison reached for the remote and turned the television off, then crossed her arms. Stiles made eye contact with her and stood up. "Before you yell at me, just realize that you have no one to blame but yourself." He told her, then began to walk upstairs.

Allison scoffed. "Are you kidding me?" She said, following him. "You were a dick to Lydia, you made inappropriate comments in front of me, and the two of you fighting nearly turned physical. Again. The tension was so thick I could barely breathe!"

Stiles shrugged as he opened the door to Allison's room. "And if you would have just picked her up yourself, this could have all been avoided. What were you doing anyway that was _so_ damn important that you couldn't take the time to pick up your _best friend_?"

"I was setting up a party! And, how dare you turn this all around on me! If you didn't have such a terrible temper when it came to her, maybe it wouldn't have been that bad."

"Well, you knew that I had issues with her. If you didn't want us to fight you would've figured out another way to get her here." He took his shirt off, almost subconsciously.

"I thought that things had changed!" Stiles opened his mouth to say something "And before you give me the spiel about how nothing changed and you still hate each other, save your breath, because Lydia already did the same thing." Allison said as she took her shirt off too. "God, do you know how pissed I am with you?"

Stiles smirked, a glint in his eye. "No, but I bet you're gonna show me." Allison glared, as she pushed him back onto the bed.

* * *

Allison opened her eyes. She swore she heard the alarm on her front door go off.

 _Creak!_ That was definitely a floorboard. Her dad wasn't coming back for another day, so who was in her house?

"Stiles!" She whispered and shook him.

"Hrrmm."

"Stiles, someone's in the house." It was at that moment that there was a distinct sound of glass shattering. Stiles sat up quickly and exchanged looks with Allison.

She slipped out of the bed. She was wearing Stiles's shirt while Stiles had a pair of sweatpants on that he kept at Allison's for nights like this.

"Do you have like a bat or something?" He asked.

"No," She said as she walked over to her closet and pulled out her crossbow. "I've got this."

"Then what do I get?" Allison reached into her closet again, this time grabbing a gun. Stiles groaned. "God, I hate guns."

There was another thud downstairs and they froze. "Just hold it."

She handed it to him and they carefully walked out of her room and down the stairs. The front door was open, but Allison heard something that sounded like scratching from the kitchen. Stiles kept the gun low, but Allison held the bow, aiming it and ready to shoot if she needed to.

Allison led Stiles toward the kitchen, then put a finger to her lips as they were about to enter it. They walked in and quickly flipped on the lights.

"Jesus, Lydia!" Stiles yelled, as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Lydia?" Allison asked as she lowered the bow. The banshee seemed to be in a trance, a piece of broken glass was in her left hand, while her right arm was held out. Her hand came down ready slice into her arm. Stiles seemed to move inhumanly fast, grabbing her left wrist in his hand.

She immediately dropped the piece of glass as she woke up.

"What the hell is going on?" She asked as she looked up at Allison.

"I was kind of wondering the same thing." Stiles said, still holding onto her wrist.

She turned to look at him, worry evident in his eyes. Then she looked down at her wrist in his hand. "I'm fine." She said and attempted to pull her arm away, but he held tightly. "Stiles, stop you're hurting me." He let her go and she held her own wrist.

"Sorry." He mumbled.

Lydia only stared at him, because since the two of them had starting fighting, Stiles never apologized for anything. She was almost starting to wonder if he'd forgotten the meaning of the word.

"It's... It's fine." She told him.

"Umm..." Allison started, as she glanced back and forth between Stiles and Lydia. "Lydia, what are you doing here?"

Lydia shook her head. "I don't know. The last thing I remember is laying down in my bed to go to sleep. Then all of a sudden I'm waking up in your kitchen with a piece of glass in my hand."

"I assume you walked here, since you're car is in the shop, right?" Allison asked.

Lydia shrugged. The three of them went to the door and didn't see any other vehicles besides Stiles's jeep and Allison's car outside.

"I'll bring you home."

Allison and Lydia whipped their heads toward Stiles.

"What?" Lydia was the first one to speak.

"I can do it, Stiles." Allison told him.

"No, you should just go back to bed. I really need to get home anyway and Lydia's on the way. Let me just grab my stuff from your room." He said then headed upstairs.

"What got into him?" Lydia asked Allison.

Allison shrugged. "No idea. He was still pissed at me when we went to bed."

Stiles came back down with his hoodie on and zipped up in place of his shirt, and he was still wearing his sweatpants.

"Almost ready." He said as he walked over to the couch where he'd taken his Converses off the night before. "Ali, I'm leaving my jeans here too since you're still wearing my shirt."

Allison looked down and crossed her arms over the shirt, as if feeling somewhat embarrassed all of a sudden. Lydia just gave her a knowing look.

"I hope you brushed your teeth." She whispered, and received a soft slap on her arm from Allison.

"Alright," Stiles announced. "Let's go."

"Bye." Lydia told Allison and gave her a hug, then she followed Stiles out to his jeep.

They were silent for several minutes, awkward tension settling inside the vehicle.

"Thank you." Lydia finally said.

Stiles nodded. "Yeah...yeah no problem." He was quiet for a moment, before saying, "Uh...wait...what are you thanking me for again?"

"I guess, one, for waking me up, and two, for taking me home." She sighed. "We both know that you didn't have to do either." Stiles suddenly slammed on the brakes and stopped in the middle of the road. "Stiles! What the-"

"Let me talk!" He yelled, then took a deep breath. "Look, I told you before that I don't hate you anymore. For awhile I did. I'm not going to be your best friend again anytime soon, but that doesn't mean that I want to see you get hurt."

"Allison would have taken me home. You didn't have to, so why did you offer?"

Stiles stared at the steering wheel for a long time, not saying anything.

"I don't know." He finally spoke. It didn't sound malicious though...not like how it would have the past few months. It almost sounded like he was on the verge of tears. "I guess... as much as we haven't gotten along lately, there's a part of me that still cares about you. If Allison and I hadn't woken up, I'm not sure what you would have done with that glass. All of a sudden, I realized how much of a jerk I was last night and if something had happened to you, that wasn't the last impression I would have wanted to leave. So, I wanted to apologize." He finally turned his head to make eye contact with her. Lydia bit her lip and looked away. "You don't have to forgive me. I just needed to get it off my chest."

Lydia took a deep breath. "I-" Stiles's phone suddenly began to ring.

"That's Allison." He said, recognizing the ring tone he'd set for her. He reached into his pocket and pulled the phone out. "Hey, babe. What's up?"

"I just sent you a picture. I just walked into the kitchen again and where Lydia was standing, there was something carved into the counter."

"Let me take a look." Stiles pulled the phone away and put Allison on speaker while he looked at his messages.

"What's wrong?" Lydia asked.

"Allison sent me a picture. I guess you carved something into the counter."

Lydia groaned. "Sorry, Allison. I'll pay you back."

"I'm more worried about _wha t_ you carved though."

Stiles tilted the phone screen toward Lydia. "What is that?" He asked her.

Lydia looked at the screen. "I don't know, but it looks like a Japanese kanji."

"I didn't know you knew Japanese." Allison said.

Lydia looked up and exchanged glances with Stiles. "I don't."

"Okay," Stiles said slowly. "Um, Allison, just go back to sleep and I'll talk this over with Scott tomorrow."

"Alright, love you. Goodnight."

"Love you too." He said and hung up.

Lydia felt her gut clench. She didn't know why it still affected her, hearing them exchange _I love you_ 's. They had been dating for 2 years, aside from the small break they took in the middle of Junior year, so it was nothing new.

A car suddenly passed them, blowing their horn. "You should probably move out of the middle of the road." Lydia whispered quietly.

"Yeah." He said as he lifted his foot off the brake and continued on his way to Lydia's house. They were quiet on the way there. Both of them lost in their own thoughts.

"Thanks for the ride home." Lydia said as she opened the door and began to climb out.

"It's fine. Just...stay there this time."

Lydia let out a small laugh. "I'll do my best." She told him. They stared for a moment in a comfortable silence, as if nothing had ever happened between them, but then they both seemed to remember at the same time that things were different now. Stiles looked away and cleared his throat and Lydia nodded. "Goodnight." She said then shut the door. She walked away a few steps, then stopped and turned around. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but she didn't have to worry about that because Stiles was already driving away.

* * *

Stiles heard his bedroom door open and moved the blanket off of his head.

"Oh!" Scott said with some surprise. "You _are_ here. I thought I heard someone come in really early this morning, but I assumed I must have been dreaming."

"It was me." Stiles scratched his head and sat up. "Lydia ended up at Allison's this morning, and I took her home."

Scott blinked a few times. "I'm not sure what I should focus on first. The way you said _ended up_ like she was in a fugue state, or the fact that you took her home."

"Well, I'll make it easy for you. We think she was sleepwalking. She carved a Japanese kanji into Allison's counter and almost carved into her arm before I stopped her, and yes. I brought her home, and yes. She was still alive when I left her."

"Oh...so are you two..."

"Friends?" Stiles shook his head. "No. There's still stuff that happened and it's going to take a lot for me to forgive her for all of it."

"I wish you would just tell me what it was."

"No." Stiles shook his head. "It's nobody's business."

Scott sighed. "Well, if it's any consolation, when I asked Lydia about it last night she wouldn't say anything either."

"Well, you have to hand it to her. The girl sure can keep a secret when she wants to." He tossed the covers off completely and threw his legs off the bed to stand.

"She said that opening her mouth is what got her in trouble in the first place." Scott said with a confusion.

"What's your point, Scott?"

"I just don't get it. She acts like you're mad because she said something and you're acting like you're mad because she didn't say something. So which is it?"

Stiles shrugged. "It's both."

Scott shook his head. "Fine, whatever. Don't tell me."

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Okay, then." Scott cleared his throat. "Well, Kira's still out of town, visiting family for Spring Break, but her mom is here. Maybe we should take a picture of that kanji and ask her what it means."

"Allison sent me a picture last night." He said as he reached for his phone. He found the picture and held the phone out so Scott could see it.

Scott reached for it and Stiles snatched it away. "What are you doing?" Scott asked his brother.

"Look, don't touch."

"What? You think I'm going to break your phone?"

"No, I think you're going to accidentally go snooping and see something you won't be able to _un_ see, and something that I'm sure _Allison_ would _not_ want you see, and _definitely_ something that _I_ would not feel comfortable about you seeing."

They blinked a few times at each other before Scott nodded. "Look, don't touch. Got it." Stiles held up the phone again and Scott leaned forward to see the picture. "What did she use to carve it?"

"I assume the same piece of glass that she almost sliced into her arm with." He put the phone back on his bedside table. "Alright, I've got to take a shower." Stiles stood and stretched.

"Alright, you do that. I'll make sure Noshiko is okay to see us today and then text Lydia and Allison." There was a loud clanging coming from the kitchen. "First, I should make sure Dad is okay with breakfast."

"He sounds like he's struggling." Stiles noted.

Scott nodded sadly. "See you downstairs in a bit."

* * *

Lydia rolled over as she heard her phone go off. She was getting a text. She reached for the phone, wishing she could sleep a few more hours since she was restless the night before.

_Going to talk to Noshiko about the kanji on Allison's counter. Picking you up around 2._

It was from Scott.

 _Okay._ She texted back. It was just after 10 a.m. So she still had about four hours before he would be there. Probably with Stiles.

Stiles. He'd confused her the night before. She still hadn't decided if she wanted to forgive him. As far as she knew, he never forgave her, so why should she give him the satisfaction? For a moment, everything had almost seemed normal though. It reminded her of how much she missed him, but like she told Scott, too much had changed for that to all go back to normal. Too much had broken between them. Not even the strongest super glue would have a chance of mending things.

Lydia groaned and rolled back over. Why did life have to be messy and complicated? She fell asleep again, for about an hour before she woke up completely frustrated in herself for not being able to sleep for more than an hour at a time. Maybe part of her was worried she was going to sleepwalk again and this time it would be in the middle of the day in lots of traffic.

She finally got up, made herself something to eat, then took a shower and got dressed. She made sure to take her time getting ready to keep herself busy. She felt a nervousness settle into the pit of stomach every time she thought she was done.

Finally she heard someone pull into the driveway and she got a text from Scott.

 _Here_.

She took a deep breath and headed down the stairs and out the door, locking it behind her. Scott was out of the jeep, so that Lydia could get into the back seat.

"You look tired." Stiles commented when Lydia climbed inside the vehicle. Scott looked back and forth between his brother and the banshee.

"I didn't sleep well." she muttered, and Scott let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding, then got back inside and closed the door.

"Me either." Stiles said as he eased off the brake and headed toward Allison's house. The car ride to Allison's was silent. It wasn't until Scott got out of the car to let Allison in that they realized Lydia had fallen asleep, head against the window.

"No wonder it was so quiet." Stiles joked.

Allison walked out of her house and up to the jeep. "Do you want to sit in the back with Lydia or the front with Stiles?" Scott asked her.

"Uh...backseat is fine." She shrugged and climbed in. Scott let her In and got back into the passenger's seat. "How long has Lydia been asleep?"Allison asked the boys.

"I don't know." Stiles told her. "But she said she didn't sleep well last night."

"Then I won't wake her up until we get to Kira's." It was about another twenty minute ride until they reached the Yukimuras' house. "What happened when you took her home last night?"

Stiles shrugged. "Nothing. I just dropped her off." Allison didn't look convinced, but Stiles was too tired to argue.

Silence settled in the jeep once again.

Stiles looked around the jeep and seemed to be thinking about something.

"What?" Scott asked his brother.

"Uh...nothing." Stiles shook his head. "I'll tell you later."

Finally, they pulling into the Yukimuras' driveway. Stiles and Scott got out first and waited for Allison and Lydia.

"Lydia." Allison said softly and shook her slightly. Lydia began to stir and looked around, almost having forgotten where she was. Slowly it all came back to her. "Wake up, sleepyhead."

Lydia rubbed her eyes and sat up. "When did you get here? How long was I out for?"

"You guys picked me up about 20 minutes ago and you were already asleep."

Lydia yawned and stretched. "Are we here?"

"Yep. Waiting on you."

She unbuckled and followed Allison out of the jeep.

"Did you have a good nap?" Scott asked when the girls got up to the door where the boys were waiting.

"Surprisingly, yes." Lydia told him.

"Is someone going to knock?" Allison asked them.

"I already did." Stiles told her. As soon as the words left his mouth, Noshiko opened the door.

"Come on in, I've made tea."

The four kids followed Kira's mother inside and to their kitchen.

"When does Kira get back again?" Scott asked, making conversation.

"Late tomorrow or early Sunday. She has to be ready for school on Monday." The teens sat down and Noshiko came around with a tea kettle. "So, what brings you here today again?"

"I'm sleepwalking." Lydia told her.

"And sleep-carving." Stiles added.

Allison pulled her phone out. "She scratched this into my kitchen counter." Noshiko looked at the picture.

"That says 'memory'."

"Memory?" Lydia questioned. "But what does that mean?"

"Yeah," Scott began. "Like, does it mean she has a good memory?"

"Or maybe it just means you really like the musical _Cats_." Allison offered.

"Not helping." Lydia said shaking her head.

"What if it means you lost a memory?" Stiles said, and everyone turned to look at him.

"What?" Lydia asked.

"I'm just spit-balling here," He began. "But, last night you said you felt like you were forgetting something. So, what if you did. You lost a memory and your subconscious wants you to remember what it is."

"What if it's not just one memory?" Scott added.

"You're saying I'm losing my entire memory?" Lydia asked, her voice breaking. She felt her heart beat faster and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself.

"What if it means just the opposite." Allison started. "I mean, instead of losing a memory, what if you're gaining new memories. I mean... we haven't discussed the fact that you wrote this in Japanese. You don't know Japanese."

"Noshiko," Stiles addressed the older woman. "You've been quiet. What do you think?"

"I think that it could mean that your memory is important to you. Maybe you're worried about a memory you have. Or, maybe you saw the kanji somewhere and the fact that it means 'memory' is a coincidence. I wouldn't worry about it too much just yet."

Allison and Scott traded places when they got back into the Jeep, Allison sitting in the passenger's seat while Scott sat in the back with Lydia.

"Is anybody else, hungry?" Stiles asked.

"Starving." Allison told him.

"Lydia?" Scott asked, looking toward the banshee.

Lydia shrugged. "I could eat."

"Let's go to Tate's." Allison said. "I haven't had it all week and I'm kind of going through withdrawal."

"You're crazy." Lydia told her as she shook her head. "But I'm fine with that."

"Scott," Stiles addressed his brother, "Any objections?"

"Nope, sounds good to me."

"Alright, well Tate's it is."

Lydia looked out the window and watched the trees pass by. She was trying not to dwell on the 'memory' revelation, she doubted it would come to her while she was wide awake anyway. She felt like she blinked and all of a sudden they were pulling into the diner parking lot.

"Hey, guys." Isaac greeted them when they walked inside.

"Hey," Scott said, "I didn't realize you were working today."

"Yeah," The beta replied. "They called me in. Just the four of you?"

"Yeah." Allison said.

Isaac looked between the teens, then leaned toward Allison and in a stage whisper, said "Wait, does Stiles realize that Lydia is with you guys?"

"Ha Ha." Stiles said sarcastically.

"Actually," Scott said looking at the banshee. "I'm not sure if _Lydia_ realizes she's with us." Lydia was staring straight ahead, not even paying attention to anything.

"Lydia?" Allison asked, then snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face.

Lydia jerked her head up. "What?"

"You just, sort of zoned out there for a second." Isaac told her.

"I did? Wait... Isaac, I didn't know you worked on Fridays."

Isaac exchanged looks with Allison and Scott. "Is she serious?"

"We just had this conversation." Stiles told her. "He was called in."

"Oh...I...I guess I _was_ zoned out."

"Alright then," Isaac changed the subject. "Just come sit over here." Stiles and Allison sat on one side while Scott and Lydia sat on the other. Stiles and Lydia were sitting across from each other on the outside of the booth. "What do you guys want to drink?"

"Chocolate milkshake." Stiles and Lydia said at the same time, then their eyes snapped up to look at each other.

"Actually," Allison said. "A chocolate milkshake sounds great."

"Yeah, same." Scott told him.

"Alright," Isaac announced. "Four chocolate milkshakes coming up."

"Stiles?" Allison asked looking over at her boyfriend. Stiles was staring the menu with a confused expression. "What's wrong?"

Stiles shook his head. "I don't know why I ordered a chocolate milkshake."

"We all ordered chocolate milkshakes." Allison reasoned. "It's not a big deal."

"No I..." He took a deep breath. "I was going to say water... then I opened my mouth and that's not what came out." He began to chew on his thumbnail as he looked at the menu without actually reading it.

"Do you _want_ a water? I mean, it's Isaac. He doesn't care, just let him know you changed your mind."

"No, it's...I'm fine. A milkshake is fine."

Allison nodded, unsure. "Okay."

"I think I'm going to get the double bacon cheeseburger." Scott announced. "What about you guys?"

"I'm going to get the BBQ Chicken Salad." Allison told him. "Stiles?"

"Uh," Stiles shook his head as he tried to get his mind back on track. "I haven't even looked yet."

"Lydia?" Scott asked. "What about you?" Lydia didn't make a move or a sound.

"Lydia?" Allison tried. Nothing.

Stiles looked up and knocked her leg with his foot under the table. Her head popped up and she glared at him.

"You weren't answering them." He told her quickly before she could go off on him.

Her expression softened as she looked at Scott and Allison. "I'm sorry...My mind is just preoccupied."

"Noshiko told you not to worry about it." Scott said.

"I know..." She sighed. "But I can't just not worry about it. What if you and Stiles are right? What if I _am_ losing my memory."

"We're not right." Stiles tried to reassure her. Lydia looked up at him and into his eyes.

"Your gut is right like 90% of the time."

"Yeah, well now my gut is saying I was wrong." Stiles took a deep breath and reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "You'll be fine. _Everything_ will be okay. We'll figure out what the kanji means and then you'll realize that you had nothing to be worried about." Lydia looked down at his hand holding hers, a comfort settling in around her. He rubbed his thumb in a calming motion on the back of her hand and she felt herself relaxing. "Okay?" She met his eyes again and nodded slowly.

Allison glared at their hands. She wanted them to get along, but not like this. Jealousy crept up her spine and she opened her mouth to say something when Isaac quickly slammed a milkshake down in front of her. Stiles and Lydia broke apart.

"Four chocolate milkshakes!" he announced, then shared a glance with Scott. Allison looked up at the alpha, and he was giving her a knowing look. Her heartbeat. The two wolves must have heard it. "Alright, so I overheard the BBQ chicken salad and a double bacon cheeseburger. What about you guys?" He asked, turning to Lydia and Stiles.

"Can I just get a cup of chicken and dumplings?" Lydia asked. "I'm not really hungry."

"Sure. Stiles?"

"Uh... The pot roast."

"What two sides?"

"Ma-" Stiles started.

"Mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese." Lydia answered, looking bewildered at herself.

"Yeah." Stiles said with confusion. "That's it."

"Alright." Isaac said with a look between the two former friends. "I'll go put this in."

"Lydia, how did you know what I was going to get?"

Lydia shook her head. "I'll be right back." She quickly got up and ran to the bathroom. Stiles looked back at Allison and Scott.

"That was weird...right?"

"Well... you guys _have_ known each other forever." Allison said as she twirled her straw around in her milkshake.

Stiles narrowed his eyes in her direction and was about to say something when his phone began to ring. He sighed and pulled the phone out of his pocket then looked at the caller ID.

"It's Aubrey." He said then looked at Allison. "Kayce's with her." He answered the phone then stood up and walked out of the diner.

Scott turned back to Allison. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Allison shrugged.

"Really? Because your heartbeat didn't sound fine and..." He motioned his head toward her hand. She looked down and saw scratches on the table, and quickly hid her hands. "Were you jealous?"

Allison picked up the paper that came from her straw and began playing with it. "I don't know...maybe a little." She took a deep breath. "It's just...when I met you guys. Stiles and Lydia had already had this history and I knew that they were just really good friends, so seeing them interact..it didn't bother me. But that was the firs time they've really interacted since I found out that they had been more than friends...so now I just see it as my boyfriend and his ex-girlfriend having a moment."

"For what it's worth, they never actually dated...at least that's what they told me...so...she's not technically his ex-girlfriend."

Allison glared at him. "It doesn't feel like it's worth much."

"Okay, well then maybe it'll help to know they didn't think of it that way."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that I was listening to their heartbeats and smelling their chemo signals. Lydia was scared and Stiles calmed her down. There were no other emotions there."

Allison nodded. "Thanks."

Lydia walked back over to the table and sat down. "Where'd he go?" She asked pointing to the empty spot.

"He got a phone call." Scott told her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Just went to the bathroom. Splashed some water on my face."

The bell above the door _ding_ ed and Stiles walked back inside.

"Hey, what did she need?" Scott asked his brother.

"Kayce isn't feeling well. I need to pick her up."

"Well," Allison started. "Let Isaac know that we need it to-go."

"Isaac?" Scott whispered then looked back at the group. "He's got it."

Isaac came back over with their food in boxes. They paid him then left.

"Hey, Ali," Stiles started when they got into the car. Allison was in the front. "I'm going to drop you off first. Aubrey's place is between yours and Lydia's."

"Yeah, okay." Allison nodded. Stiles pulled up to Allison's house and she kissed him goodbye before getting out of the jeep. Allison looked at him curiously as she pulled away and Stiles looked down. "Bye." She said and walked away. Scott noticed the interaction but didn't say anything. Especially not with Lydia sitting right there. She didn't seem to have noticed anything.

Stiles left Allison's and drove to Aubrey's house and had barely put the jeep in park when he jumped out.

Lydia looked up at the house in front of her. "Wow, I haven't been _here_ in awhile."

Scott looked at Lydia then back to the house. "Have you talked to Aaron recently?"

"Not since he moved away. Besides. I've _got_ a long-distance boyfriend that deserves my attention more than an Ex."

Stiles knocked on the door and Aubrey's middle daughter, RaeLee, answered. "Hey, Stiles. I'll go get Kayce for you."

"Thanks." He said and stepped inside the house as RaeLee walked away. Kayce came around the corner in tears and Stiles scooped her up into his arms. "Hey, Nugget." He said softly. The eight year-old sobbed into her brother's shoulder. Aubrey came around with Kayce's things. "What happened?" He asked.

"She got sick. I think it may have been something she ate, but it could be a virus. She's wearing some of Nessa's clothes. I'm washing hers right now. Either way, just keep her close to a bathroom and try to get her to eat something light later, like saltines and ginger ale. Maybe pick up some Gatorade to keep the fluids in her system. You don't want her to get dehydrated."

"Thanks, Aubie." Stiles said and Kayce lifted her head.

"Bye Aunt Aubie."

"Bye Sweetie. Feel better. Call me if you need anything, Stiles."

"We will." He told her and walked back toward the jeep.

"Who's in the backseat?" Kayce asked. "I saw someone move back there."

"Oh, it's... it's Lydia."

"Lydia?! I haven't seen her in a long time."

Stiles got to the passenger's side and Scott got out. "How are you feeling?" Scott asked as he touched his sister's arm.

"Better." She said after a moment.

"Good." Scott smiled and leaned the front seat forward.

"Lydia!" Kayce said happily as she climbed into the back.

"Hey, Kayce!"

"Is Lydia coming home with us?" Kayce asked.

"No," Stiles told her as he got into the driver's seat. "We're dropping Lydia off at her house."

Kayce looked back at the banshee. "But I miss you."

"Kayce, you're sick." Stiles reasoned.

"I feel fine." She told her brother.

"You won't feel fine for long." Scott told her.

Lydia looked over at Kayce who had started to cry again. "Hey," she soothed. "I promise we'll hang out soon, okay? When you're feeling better." Kayce nodded and laid her head down in Lydia's lap.

Several minutes later, the little girl was asleep and they were pulling into Lydia's driveway. Stiles got out and moved his seat forward so that Lydia could get out of the back. The banshee carefully moved herself out from underneath Kayce's head and Stiles grabbed her hand to help her down.

"See you later." He told her.

"Just so you know," Lydia turned on him and raised her voice slightly. Stiles was taken aback. "I intend on keeping my promise to your sister. So don't you dare keep me away from her again."

It took Stiles a moment to find his voice. "I didn't realize I was keeping you away from her before."

"Well," Lydia started feeling herself calm down. "It was implied."

Stiles nodded. "Well then, I promise I won't keep you from each other."

"Good."

"Good." Stiles nodded again.

Lydia stared a moment then said, "Bye." and walked quickly toward her door.

Stiles climbed back in and looked at Scott who was grinning widely. "What's with your face?"

"Nothing, it just looks like you guys are starting to get a long again."

"Do you not remember that it was just last night that you and Liam were the only things keeping us from from physically attacking each other?" He said as he left Lydia's driveway.

"No, I do. But think something changed when you thought she was going to hurt herself."

Stiles nodded and was silent for a moment. "I apologized last night."

"For what?" Scott asked as if he was about to grab popcorn and listen to some juicy gossip.

"For last night." Stiles said with a confused look. What else could he have been talking about? "You know, for fighting and being a jerk."

"And?"

"And what?"

"And what happened? What did she say?"

"Nothing." Stiles shrugged. "I told her she didn't have to forgive me and she didn't. So, don't go thinking it's all rainbows and sunshine again."

"Well...have you forgiven her?"

"For what?"

"For whatever it is that you won't tell me about."

Stiles scoffed. "No. Definitely not."

"So, then why should she forgive you?"

"She shouldn't. That's why I told her that she didn't have to."

Scott nodded and the car fell silent for a little bit before he said, "So can I ask you something?"

"If it's something else about me and Lydia then I swear to God-"

"No, it's about you and Allison."

"What about us?"

"She kissed you when she got out of the jeep and you guys had some kind of silent conversation. What happened?"

Stiles sighed and looked back to make sure Kayce was still asleep. "I didn't kiss her back."

"What? Why not?"

"I don't know. I guess I wasn't expecting it, and I was focused on getting to Kayce. I just wasn't feeling it I guess. She was mad though. I could tell." Scott nodded and Stiles took a deep breath. "So, how is she?" He motioned to the back seat with his head. "Is she really sick?"

Scott nodded. "Yeah. She was definitely in pain."

"I hate seeing her sick." Stiles said.

"Me too." Scott agreed. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Oh for the love of God! What?"

"Just...earlier...you looked around the jeep like you were thinking about something, and you said you'd tell me later."

"Oh..." Stiles chuckled. "It was nothing."

Scott groaned. "Just tell me!"

"I just... I looked around, and saw you, and Lydia and Allison, and I just had the realization that I'd see everyone in the jeep naked."

Scott raised his eyebrow. "When have you seen me naked?"

"Not recently." Stiles assured him. "I mean... we _have_ known each other for like 13 years and we've been brothers for nine... Although...there was that time about three years ago, when I accidentally walked in on you in the shower. Seriously, dude...there's a lock on the door for a reason. If Kira were in the jeep I still could have said I'd seen everybody naked because you _don't_ _lock_ the _door_.

Suddenly they heard Kayce shuffle and whimper in the backseat. "Mommy." She whined.

Stiles bit his lip and Scott looked out of the window and they both sighed.

* * *

Lydia had another restless night. Fortunately, it didn't seem to have involved any involuntary strolls. Honestly, the best sleep she had gotten was in Stiles's jeep.

"Lydia!" Her mother called her. "The mechanic just called. We can go pick up your car!"

"Be there in a minute!" She called back.

Her mother drove her to the mechanic and paid for the work that had to be done. Lydia didn't think it was worth it. Once your vehicle is wrecked during a supernatural fight, it wasn't worth saving. Her mother thought differently.

Once Lydia got back behind the wheel of her car, she tried to decide on what to do. Now that she had freedom again she wasn't sure where she wanted to go. She decided to check in on Kayce... maybe she could visit with her.

 _How's Kayce?_ She texted to Scott. She had just gotten so used to texting Scott, plus she was pretty sure she'd deleted Stiles's number from her phone.

 _Still sick._ She got back a few minutes later, _We think it's the stomach flu_.

_Poor thing. Tell her I hope she feels better._

_Will do. Stiles has been taking care of her all night and all day today._

_But you're the werewolf that doesn't get sick._

_I tried to tell him._

Suddenly, Lydia didn't feel well. Maybe it was talking about Kayce having the stomach flu, and the realization that she had contact with her the day before, but she decided that home was definitely the best place for her.

She got sick as soon as she got home and on Sunday, Scott had texted her informing her that Stiles was also sick. She thought that maybe being sick and tired would actually help her sleep, but no such luck. She just kept waking up to go to the bathroom and her mother was doing her best to take care of her.

Allison had sent Stiles a text asking if she could come visit him.

 _Fine vine part in Dublin._ He had texted back.

_What? You're in Dublin?_

_On such._

_What are you saying?_

_Um dick._

_You're a dick? Well...I could have told you that._

"Scott." Stiles called weakly.

"You rang?" Scott said as he walked in a few minutes later.

Stiles held his phone out. "Talk to Allison. She doesn't understand!" He whined.

Scott took his brother's phone and looked at the previous texts. He laughed as he texted her back.

_Stiles is sick, and apparently autocorrect is working against him today. He'll text when he's feeling better.- Scott_

Scott hit send and put the phone back. "All done. Now, just stop texting until you feel better. Who knows what you'll end up saying."

"Mmkay bye." He mumbled and rolled over.

Unfortunately for Stiles, he felt better by late afternoon Sunday which meant he had to go to school the next day, and unfortunately for Lydia she still felt like crap late evening Sunday night.

"Are you feeling better?" Allison asked Stiles when she saw him at his locker.

"Yes and no." Stiles shrugged. "The virus ran it's course, but now I'm in the day-after-being-sick funk."

"Lydia was still sick last night." Allison told him. "I don't think she'll be at school today."

Stiles looked up at Allison and saw something just over her head. "Well, think again." Allison turned around and saw Lydia walking into the school .

"Lydia!" Allison said in surprise.

"Hi!" She said brightly.

"How are you feeling?"

"Loads better. That stomach flu kicked my ass though."

"Tell me about it." Stiles mumbled.

Allison glanced at Stiles before turning back to Lydia. "If you were still sick last night, shouldn't you be at home still?"

"I'm fine."

"How are you so perky?" Stiles asked. "I was starting to feel better yesterday afternoon and I still feel like death this morning. There was no convincing my dad to let me stay home, though."

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know, but I only have one class, so I figured it wasn't worth it to skip anyway."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "I've got to get to class." He kissed Allison's cheek and walked away.

Allison turned back to Lydia. "Come on. We've got class too."

Allison linked her arm with Lydia and the two of them went to their AP Biology class. "So, is your dad home yet?" Lydia asked her best friend.

"No." Allison sighed. "He was supposed to be home yesterday, but he pushed it back to today, hopefully." She pouted. "I miss him, Lyd."

"Have you ever been away from him this long before?" She asked as they walked into the classroom.

"No! And I hate it! This is _not_ happening again. Not if I have anything to do with it." Allison sat down at her desk and Lydia sat down at same table, just right next to her.

"Well at this point, he may as well stay gone until Thursday." Lydia told her as she pulled out her book.

"What? Why would you say that?" Allison asked as she did the same.

"Because Wednesday is the full moon." Lydia said, with a tone that suggested Allison should have realized this sooner.

"Ugh!" Allison groaned as she hit her head against the hardback biology book. "I totally forgot."

"That's why I'm here." Lydia shrugged.

"Alright class," Mrs. Finch began. "I hope everyone enjoyed their Spring Break, but I also hope that you remembered that you have a test today." The entire class groaned. "So, with that being said, books away, writing utensils out and I'm passing the tests out now."

Allison clicked her pen nervously before Lydia finally grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Calm down." She whispered.

"Sorry." Allison mouthed back.

Mrs. Finch gave them their tests and Lydia went straight to work. She had forgotten that there was going to be a test today, but luckily she remembered what they had talked about in class the week before Spring Break. She had finished the first page of the test when she realized, wait...she had _forgotten_ about the test? Lydia didn't forget things like that. She would have been studying for it non-stop the entire Spring Break. Did this have something to do with the memory kanji? Was she, in fact, losing her memory?

All of a sudden, none of the questions made sense. She could feel Allison staring at her and Mrs. Finch was giving her strange glances. Her breathing was picking up, and her heartbeat had accelerated. Lydia stood up, knocking her chair over in the process.

"Lydia?" Mrs. Finch questioned.

The banshee was suddenly overcome with a wave of nausea. She threw her hand over her mouth and ran out of the room.

Allison looked up at Mrs. Finch, silently asking her if she could go check on Lydia. Mrs. Finch gave her a tiny nod and she quickly got up, picked Lydia's chair up and then followed her friend out the door.

Allison didn't see Lydia in the hallway, but went to the bathroom across the hall to see if she was there.

A girl opened the door looking like she was going to be sick, and Allison heard the retching coming from inside.

"Lydia?" She called.

"Yeah?" She heard back. Her voice sounded small. Allison could see her friend's feet from under the only closed stall.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know." Allison could tell she was crying. The toilet flushed and Lydia walked out of the bathroom pale and shaking. "Do you have any gum or something?" Lydia asked as she went to the sink.

"In my purse." Lydia nodded. "I knew you shouldn't have come to school today." Allison said shaking her head.

"I'm fine... well at least I _was_ fine. I just freaked out."

Allison nodded. "I could tell." Lydia rinsed her mouth out with water as her friend spoke. "Maybe you should go home."

"I'm not sick." Lydia said. "Not with the stomach flu. There's no way I still have that. I just got scared."

"But, Lydia you're never scared."

"Yeah, well...I am now." She took a deep breath. "I didn't remember about the test. I'm the one who always remembers that kind of thing. I don't even remember her announcing it."

"Wait, this is about the kanji, isn't it?"

"I'm losing my mind." Lydia sobbed.

"Lydia, listen to me. You're not losing anything. Not your memories, not your mind. There's probably a simple explanation to why you didn't remember her announcing it. I mean, I don't remember it either! Maybe we weren't there, or maybe we were talking and not paying attention. I could go on and on. There are so many possibilities, that don't have to do with memories and kanjis. Okay?"

Lydia nodded. "Okay. You're...you're right."'

"Of course I am." Allison smiled. "Come on. Let's go finish the test." Allison turned to walk away and Lydia grabbed her wrist. Allison turned her head to see Lydia faced toward the door, but her eyes darting from side to side as she if she was listening to something. "Lydia?" Allison asked after a moment.

Lydia shook her head, "I don't think anybody is going to finish the test today."

Allison's eyes widened and she ran back to their classroom. When she got back inside, Mrs. Finch was on the ground. Several kids stood around her and a few of them were on their phones, presumably with 911.

Lydia came in a moment later and immediately looked away.

"What happened?" Allison asked a nearby student.

"She just collapsed." She told her.

Another teacher ran in suddenly, clearing a path. With her, she brought the rest of her class which included Scott and Stiles.

"Stiles!" Allison called as she ran toward her boyfriend that had just walked into the hallway. He held her as she whispered to him what happened.

"Hey," Scott said to Lydia as he walked over to her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded. "I'm fine. I can't say the same for Mrs. Finch." She shrugged.

"What do you think happened?" Scott asked.

Lydia shook her head. "I don't know. Allison and I were in the bathroom."

"Is she going to be okay?" Scott asked the banshee.

Lydia shook her head again. "No. She's not."


	2. A Surprise Guest

Lydia and Allison's entire class was sent to the library so they could give statements to the Sheriff's department. When a teacher as perfectly healthy as Mrs. Finch just drops dead in the middle of class, there tends to be cause for concern. The rest of her classes for the day were also being held in the library as a study hall. Scott, Stiles and Kira all had her for their next class, so the five of them were in the library together sitting on the stairs.

Allison was resting her head on Stiles's shoulder and he had his arm around her. Kira was sitting next to Lydia holding her hands and Scott was facing the four of them.

"Are you sure you didn't notice anything?"

Lydia groaned. "Scott, for the last time... I was in the bathroom puking my guts up when it happened!"

"I meant before that. Did she seem weird?"

"Scott," Allison spoke up when she saw the look on Lydia's face. "We told you everything we know."

"Lydia," Kira began. "You don't look well." Her cheeks were flushed and Kira noted that her hands felt clammy as well.

"I just want to go home." She said softly as she swallowed the tears that were springing to her eyes.

"You're still sick." Allison told her. "I told you that you shouldn't have come today."

"It was only supposed to be for an hour. And I'm not sick."

"If you're not sick, "Stiles started, "Then you're freaking yourself out over nothing."

"Shut up, Stiles!" She snapped. "You don't get to talk to me! Just because you apologized doesn't mean I forgive you and everything can go back to being normal? I _don't_ forgive you! I _won't_. Got it?!"

Stiles opened his mouth ready to spout off a retort, but Allison squeezed his leg, silently telling him to not respond. Instead, he quickly stood up, grabbed his bag and walked out of the library.

The group got quiet after that. The sheriff walked back into the room and Scott quickly got his attention.

"Hey, kids. What do you need?"He asked when he made his way over to the group.

Scott replied, "Lydia isn't feeling well. Can she leave or do you still need her?"

Allison spoke up as the sheriff looked at Lydia. "We didn't see anything. We weren't even in the room when it happened."

He nodded. "Okay, but I don't want you driving yourself." He told the banshee.

"I'll take her." Allison volunteered. The two girls grabbed their bags and walked out of the library.

The sheriff turned toward Scott. "Where's Stiles?"

Scott sighed and shrugged. "Lydia drama. He ran out a few minutes ago. Not sure where he was going."

* * *

"Can I just point out," Stiles began as he heard his brother's footsteps behind him, "That for as many times as it's been me starting it, that time it was not."

"No, you're right." Scott said as he sat down next to him. He'd found him in the locker room. "I think she was agitated with me, and it didn't have to be you... She would have snapped on the next person who said something."

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Well, it sure felt like her anger was directed at me." He said through clenched teeth and Scott saw his brother's hands gripping the bench they were sitting on.

"Why are you upset?" Scott asked.

"She just... infuriates me!" He yelled, already feeling the tension begin to release. "She acts like she's so perfect and hasn't done anything wrong. Like everything is my fault because I got mad at her in first place!" Scott couldn't stop himself from physically moving to the edge of his seat. It had been a year of not knowing what had happening between the former best friends, getting bits and pieces here and there. Was this where he finally learned? Stiles shook his head. "And then I wanted to say something back there so bad, but Allison stopped me. Like she gets a reprieve because she's sick. Well, newsflash! I was sick and still feel like crap today, but I was doing my best. Did I think that everything was going to go back to the way it was? No! I even told _you_ that the other day! But I'm trying to be nicer. Obviously, she doesn't deserve it though."

Scott sighed. So close, but nothing. "Feel better?" He asked.

Stiles shrugged and muttered under his breath, "Bitch."

"Stiles..." Scott warned.

"Well, she is, Scott. If you just knew what she did, then you'd agree."

"Then why don't you tell me?"

"I can't!" He yelled, his voice breaking. His eyes turned glassy as he continued, "I can't because it hurts too much to say it out loud." He sniffed. "And because we promised we would keep it between us, and unless she breaks that promise first, I'm not going to give anybody else another reason to make me out to be the bad guy."

Scott sighed. "Look," He said as he took a look at the time. "The bell is going to ring any second, but I want to get this out. I'm worried about you, Stiles. You've slowly become this guy that I barely recognize half the time. And to be honest it kind of scares the shit out of me." Stiles hung his head. "Since you and Lydia started this fight, the pack has been weaker as a whole, and if you guys aren't going to talk to each other about what you're feeling and clear the air, you need to talk to somebody instead of keeping it all bottled up." When Stiles raised his head again, Scott saw that his cheeks were wet with tears. Stiles quickly rubbed his hand over his face and wiped them away. "I've let this go on for a year, hoping that eventually you'd both come to your senses, but enough is enough."

The bell rang as soon as Scott finished his speech and Stiles didn't say anything. He just stood up and walked out of the locker room, leaving his brother to wonder if the speech had any effect whatsoever.

* * *

"You know," Allison began, after a few moments of driving in silence. "A lot of times it's Stiles who starts it, but this time, Sweetie, I've got to admit it was you."

"I know." She replied barely above a whisper. She sighed. "What are we going to do about my car?"

"Well, I could either come back with somebody else later to bring it to you, or I could pick you up tomorrow."

Lydia shrugged. "Do whatever you want to do."

"Are you okay?" Allison asked. Lydia's hand was covering her mouth and Allison could swear she saw beads of sweat forming at her temples.

Lydia shook her head quickly. "Stop the car. I'm going to be sick." Allison pulled over and Lydia was out of the car before it was put into park.

Allison got out of the car and walked over to hold her friend's hair back. "Lydia?"

As she neared the banshee, Lydia put her hand out. "Allison, please just back away."

"What did I do?"

"Nothing...there's just something on you that smells terrible and it's not helping matters."

Allison picked up her feet and looked at the bottom of her shoes. "Did I step in something?"

"No...that's not what I smell...it's like...rancid perfume."

Allison frowned. "I'm wearing the perfume you picked out for me at the mall last week."

Lydia froze, as if realizing something. "The _Waterlily_ one?" Allison nodded. Lydia felt her heartbeat quicken, before shaking the thought away. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Come on, we'll roll the windows down. Maybe that will make it better."

Lydia nodded and followed Allison back to the car.

The fresh air now filtering through the car made the ride a little more bearable.

When Allison pulled into Lydia's driveway she put the car in park so that Lydia could get out. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"No!" Lydia said rather quickly. Allison looked visibly hurt and Lydia tried to backtrack. "It's just..your perfume. I'm sorry. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Allison nodded softly. "No, I get it. It's fine." Lydia could tell that Allison was upset. "And don't worry I won't wear it again." She said it with a bite, and Lydia wasn't sure what emotion felt stronger: the guilt, the anger, or the hurt. They were all overpowering though and Lydia felt tears welling up in her eyes. "Bye." Allison told her without looking at her. She said it so suddenly and with such coldness that Lydia jumped before nodding and reaching for the handle.

She got out and closed the door. The window was still rolled down and she leaned over to apologize once again. "Allison I-"

It didn't matter. Allison took off, and Lydia jumped back so that she didn't get hit. She felt a sob escape her chest before she made it inside the house. Why did she have such a knack of pushing away the people she loved? First it was her dad, then it was Stiles, and now Allison. She just needed Aiden to hurry up and come home. Of course, the bright side was that her fights with Allison didn't normally last too long... although she used to say that about Stiles as well.

* * *

Stiles stepped back into the school out of breath after running around the track.

"Feel better?" He heard his brother's voice from behind him.

Stiles shrugged. "A little."

"You nearly beat me you were running so fast. And you normally only run that fast when you're trying to blow off steam. Are you still pissed about Lydia?"

"Nope." He said as reached for a towel and began to wipe his face. "Completely over it."

"Uh huh..." Scott said, not believing him.

"Have you seen Isaac?" Stiles quickly changed the subject, and began to change his shirt.

"I think he had to get to work. Which is where I need to be getting."

Stiles nodded and grabbed his backpack. "Well, I think I'm just going to go home. See you later." He didn't give Scott time to answer, before he was walking away and out to his jeep. He was looking at his phone to see if he had any missed calls from Allison as he neared the vehicle. He didn't have anything from her. A couple of texts from Danny replying to a conversation about video games and a missed call from a number he didn't recognize. He figured it was a wrong number and if they really needed to get a hold of him they would have either left a message or would call back later. He climbed in and started the jeep, but it wasn't until he turned his head to back up that he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Holy shit!" He exclaimed as he clutched his chest. "Jesus, Lydia! What the hell are you doing?" Lydia sat in the back seat, eyes wide open, but not moving. It took Stiles a few moments to realize she wasn't just ignoring him. He groaned. "Not this again." He turned the jeep off and unbuckled, turning around completely in his seat. "Hey!" He snapped his fingers in front of her face. "Wake up! Come on!" He sighed and mumbled, "God, Lydia, I just want to go home. I don't have time to deal with your fugue-state ass today." He climbed into the backseat, not gracefully of course, and ended up falling onto the floor between the backseat and the driver's seat. There wasn't a whole lot of space there though, so he wasn't sure exactly how he got wedged in there. Stiles let out a frustrated yell. "Lydia, wake up so you can help me up!" His hands finally found purchase and he was able to push himself back up onto the seat. "You know," He was saying as he struggled to get up. "This faintly reminds me of the last time we were in the backseat of this car together. And the only reason I can mention it is because you have no idea what I'm saying at the moment." He sat up completely and Lydia was still staring straight ahead. "Alright, Lydia. Come on. Time to wake up. For real." He reached for her hand and their skin barely made contact when she screamed. His hands immediately went to his ears and Lydia was suddenly looking around.

"What...what happened? How did I get here?"

"I was going to ask you," Stiles began trying to catch his breath for the third time in the past 15 minutes. "But, my guess is that it had something to do with you sleep walking again."

Lydia put her hand on her head. "I was having a dream. We were in a car..."

"We who? Me and you?"

Lydia nodded. "And...we were going to crash. But... it was like we knew we wouldn't get hurt."

Stiles nodded. "Cool." He looked away, not sure what else he was supposed to say.

Lydia took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about earlier. Snapping at you like that..you didn't deserve it...well.. not that time at least."

Stiles nodded and gave a short laugh "Well...thank you... I think."

They were silent a few moments before Lydia blurted, "I got into a fight with Allison."

Stiles raised his eyebrows and looked over at the banshee. "Yeah?"

"Yeah...in retrospect, it was a sort of stupid thing to fight over."

"What happened?"

"Basically, I told her that her perfume made me sick. Turns out it was some expensive perfume I begged her to buy a couple of weeks ago."

"Well, I could see why she would be mad." Lydia nodded. They were silent for a long while, each staring straight ahead, neither knowing what to say. After several minutes, Stiles said, "Scott keeps asking me what happened."

"He asked me too." Silence again. "Do you want to tell him?"

"Yes and No. I mean, I want to tell him because he's my brother...I just don't want everybody else to find out."

"And by everybody else, you mean Allison?"

Stiles didn't answer her. Or, maybe he did by avoiding the question. "I just don't think it's anyone's business... Hell! It took you a year to even tell _me_." He said it almost jokingly, but Lydia could still hear the pain in his voice. They were quiet again before she replied.

"You know...We never _really_ talked about what happened. We just...fought."

Stiles scoffed. " What's there to talk about, Lyd?"

Lydia pursed her lips. "You're right."

Stiles immediately whipped his head around to look at her. "I am?"

"I shouldn't have kept it a secret. I'm sorry."

Stiles opened his mouth and closed it several times as he tried to form words. "You're... _sorry_?!" He finally yelled, making Lydia jump. "You wait a year to tell me any of this to begin with, basically telling me it was none of my business anyway and _now_ nearly another year later, you want to _apologize_ for keeping it from me? Do you know how angry that makes me?"

"Well based on the yelling, I think I can figure it out."

Stiles closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as angry tears burned in his eyes. It took several minutes for him to calm down enough to look back at Lydia. Her hands grasped the seat and he could see her shoulders rising and falling as silent tears streamed down her face. Before he could think too much about it, he reached his hand out and placed it on top of hers. He looked straight ahead, but he could see her out of the corner of his eye. She froze for a moment, then looked down at their hands, then she looked ahead just as he was. They sat for a few moments like that before Stiles finally broke the silence.

"Apparently, our fighting has made the pack weaker. And basically we need to get our shit together. Or...well I don't know what Scott will do...but I don't really want to find out. I told you the other day that seeing you with that piece of glass in your hand made me realize how I don't want to see anything happen to you. And I think we can both agree that our friendship will never be the same, and we've both said and done things we can't forgive the other for...at least not right now. But can we agree to be civil with each other from now on?"

Lydia shrugged. "Unless you do something stupid." Lydia bit back a smile and Stiles shook his head to stop himself from laughing as he let go of her hand.

"I'm assuming you didn't bring your keys with you, right?" Lydia shook her head. "Get up front and I'll take you home." They both climbed back to the front seat, and Stiles started the jeep. "So," Stiles began as he pulled out of the parking spot. "Your dream..."

Lydia gave him a curious look. "What dream?"

"The one you just told me about...with us in the car...and we were going to crash?"

Lydia shook her head slowly. "I...I don't remember."

"Do you remember telling me about it?"

Lydia could feel herself becoming frantic, and she tried calming herself down long enough to think about the question. "Um... sort of?" She took a shaky breath. "God, Stiles what's wrong with me?"

"Hey," He said softly as he reached his hand over to grab hers again. "Everything will be okay. Alright? You're just hyperaware of anything to do with memory. If you would never have drawn that kanji, these things wouldn't mean anything to you, would they?"

She took a deep breath. "I guess not."

"Exactly." Stiles phone chirped and he saw he had a text from Aubrey. "Ah, shit."

"What?" Lydia asked.

"I forgot that I was supposed to pick up Kayce from Aubrey's house. She just sent a text reminding me."

"If you want to pick her up first, I'm really not ready to go home."

"Really?"

"Yeah... I mean... I also told your sister I would hang out with her soon."

"True. Alright. " He shrugged and made a left toward Aubrey's.

* * *

"Deaton, I'm here!" Scott announced as he came through the front doors of the vet's office.

"In here." He heard from the examination room. As he walked in, he saw Deaton with a dog on the table. As many times as it had been one of the pack members getting checked out, they did still get actual pets on occasion. "Perfect timing." Deaton said as Scott walked through. Scott saw the large needle in Deaton's hand and knew immediately what he was needed for. He walked over and pet the dog slowly. As Deaton inserted the needle, the werewolf's veins turned black as he absorbed the pain. "Thanks." The vet said as "I heard about your teacher."

"How? I mean... I know news travels fast around here, but..."

"Your dad called to find out if there was a chance it was supernatural."

"And?"

"Well, like I told him. It's Beacon Hills, there's always a chance and that chance is pretty high. But, a perfectly healthy teacher drops dead in the middle of class. Something's definitely not quite right there."

"What do you think it is?"

"I don't know. I'm going to the morgue to perform my own autopsy and see if I can figure it out."

"When?"

"Right now." He said as took his gloves off. "I was just waiting for you to get here. Can you put Missy in a kennel until her owner gets back."

Scott nodded. "Yeah, and just don't forget to let me know what we're dealing with."

"Have I ever let you down before?"

"No, but I don't want you to make a habit of it starting now." He joked. Deaton smiled and shook his head.

"Don't worry."

* * *

"Okay, just wait right here." Stiles told Lydia as they pulled up in front of the Gardner residence. "I'll go get her."

Lydia nodded and he climbed out of the jeep. She was glad that they had agreed to be civil toward each other. It had become draining constantly being mad at him. But really...was she mad at him? Or was she mad at herself for ruining the greatest relationship she'd ever had? Not necessarily romantic relationship, (although the sex was pretty great), but their friendship had always been extremely important to her. Then she went and fucked it up- in SO many ways. Lydia had to admit, she wasn't the type to do stupid things- she was a genius after all- but when she did, she really did a number.

Suddenly there was a bang on her door and turn to see Kayce pressing her face to the window.

"Lydia!"

The banshee smiled and opened the door. Kayce stepped into the jeep and gave Lydia a hug, then climbed over her awkwardly to get to the backseat.

"Seriously?" Stiles asked his sister as walked back over to them. "You couldn't ask her politely to get out, or get in on my side? You just climb over her like an animal?"

Kayce shrugged and Lydia laughed. Stiles just shook his head.

"Scott said I got you sick too, Lydia." Kayce told her.

"Oh, it's fine. Nothing I haven't had before. Do you feel better?"

"Lots! You?"

"I'm okay." Lydia smiled.

They were already heading home when Kayce gasped. "Can we go get ice cream?!" Stiles sighed and looked at Lydia. Lydia shrugged. "Please please please please please !" She begged.

"Okay!" Stiles yelled quickly before she could ask again. "Okay." he said again calmer. "We can get ice cream."

"Yay!" the eight year-old cheered.

* * *

When Scott got home he was going to go straight to bed, when he heard music coming from Stiles's room. He couldn't remember the last time Stiles played music, especially not the song he was listening to. He hadn't heard that song since before the fight started.

He carefully made his way to Stiles's room, and saw that the door was cracked. He knocked once, and the door opened a little further so that he could peak his head inside.

Stiles was laying on his bed reading one of his school books. He glanced up and jumped slightly.

"Jesus!" He yelled, then reached over and turned the docking station off. "You should have given me some kind of warning or something."

Scott chuckled. "I just walked in. I even knocked."

"Well I was reading. I didn't hear you. Knock louder next time."

"Noted." He said as he walked inside the room. "How was your day?"

"Interesting. When I got out to the jeep Lydia was there."

"She was there? At the jeep?"

"Not exactly.. she was... _in_ the jeep."

"How'd she get in the jeep?"

Stiles shrugged. "No idea. Fugue state. When she woke up, she mentioned a dream she had, and a few minutes later, she had no recollection of even having a dream."

"That's kind of strange...right?"

"Yeah... kind of." Stiles took a deep breath. "You'll be happy to know we talked. "

"Really?"

"Yeah. We agreed to stop fighting."

"So you forgave each other?" He asked with a smile.

"That's not what I said." He told him with a shake of his head.

Scott's smile dropped. "Then nothing's fixed."

"I didn't say it was fixed. It's never going to be fixed. It's just...haphazardly patched up."

"It's putting a bandaid on a bullet hole. After a few minutes you won't even be able to see the bandaid because of all of the blood. A bullet wound can't heal without getting stitched up first. AKA: Forgiveness."

"Scott, I don't need a lecture-"

"Are you sure about that?"

Stiles stood up, his voice raising slightly. "Since when did you become my father?"

"I'm not your father, I'm your alpha!" Scott yelled back, a little louder.

Stiles scoffed, and raised his voice. "So, now you're _ordering_ me to forgive the girl who broke my heart and shattered it into a million pieces? The one who ripped it out and stomped on it and shoved it back in?"

Scott's eyes were wide and his mouth hung open, moving, but no sounds were coming out.

"Hey!" They heard a gruff voice come from the door way. It was the sheriff. "Are you two trying to wake up the whole neighborhood? Shut it! Because I _am_ your father."

"Yes sir." The boys mumbled. He closed the door with a bit of force, not loud enough to cause a scene, but enough to make a point.

The boys didn't make eye contact with each other for a moment.

"I...I didn't..." Scott tried to form a complete thought, but Stiles shook his head.

"No. You don't know anything about it. So, you should leave it alone, and just...leave my room." Scott nodded and turned to open the door, when Stiles continued, "By the way, we're picking her up tomorrow. Allison drove her home and then we think she walked back to the school, without her keys. So, her car is still at school and she needs a ride."

Scott nodded. "Look, Stiles...I'm-"

Stiles was already reading the book again and he cut the alpha off without looking up. "I thought I told you to leave."

Scott could smell the grief and anger coming off of his brother, so he nodded and walked away.

* * *

Lydia was awake. Part of her was still afraid to fall asleep because now it had been twice that she had just wandered off. She ended up debating the pros and cons of going to sleep versus staying awake until her alarm went off. Suddenly, she became extremely tired, but it was too late to go to sleep.

She begrudgingly got up and went to the bathroom to take a shower. The hot water helped to wake her up a bit. When she went to get dressed, she had a hard time finding something to wear. Her whole body felt achy and everything was too tight. She finally found a loose-fitting t-shirt and sweatpants, then threw her hair into a sloppy bun. She didn't have the energy to put make-up on either, and looking at herself in the mirror, it looked like she had just rolled out of bed, which wasn't what happened at all.

Her phone chimed and her breath nearly caught in her throat when she saw 'Stiles' pop up on the screen. When they first got into their fight, she spent months hoping that his name would be what she would see when her phone went off, and she was disappointed every time. She had eventually just assumed that it was never him, so to finally see his name again...it actually made her a little emotional. She quickly wiped her eyes. "I'm just tired." She mumbled to herself. The text just told her that they were in her driveway, so she grabbed her backpack and her purse- making sure her keys were in there since that was the reason they were picking her up anyway- then headed out of the door.

"Oh my God." Stiles mumbled to his brother when Lydia walked out of the house.

"What?" Scott asked and looked up.

"What is she wearing?" Scott turned to see the banshee in what looked like pajamas. "Seriously, the only thing that would make that outfit more complete would be a bathrobe and some slippers."

Scott opened the door and jumped out so that he could push his seat forward. "Hey...Lydia..." He said, with uncertainty. Lydia stopped and looked at the expressions on the boys' faces.

Her bottom lip began to quiver before she said, "I look really bad don't I?" Her face crumpled and she began to sob. The boys exchanged looks, not sure of what to do.

"No!" Scott said after a moment's hesitation. "You look...Stiles?" He asked as he turned to face his brother.

Stiles widened his eyes at Scott, before looking back to Lydia. "You just...uh..look different...that's all. We're not used to seeing you dress like that..."

"I just." Lydia tried, but couldn't stop sobbing. "I didn't... sleep... at all, and...and I...I'm so tired. And everything hurts...when you touch it."

"It's okay," Scott tried, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" Lydia yelled. "I just told you it hurts!"

Scott immediately put his hands up in defense. "I'm sorry."

"Uh... Lydia," Stiles tried. "Do you want to stay home today?"

Lydia shook her head. " No, because if I stay home then I'll go to sleep and who knows what will happen then." The boys nodded and Lydia just stared at Scott. "Well?!" She finally asked.

"Well what?" The alpha was confused.

"Aren't you going to help me into the Jeep?!"

"But, you just said not to tou-" Scott sighed and shook his head. "Nevermind." He held his hand out and Lydia grabbed onto it and hoisted herself into the jeep.

Scott and Stiles were still in their tiff from the night before, so the ride over was almost silent. When they pulled into the parking lot, Lydia was sound asleep in the backseat.

The brothers looked at each other. "What are you waiting for? Wake her up." Stiles told Scott.

"What? Me?"

"Yes, you. You're the _alpha_."

Scott groaned. "I'm sorry. Okay? That was stupid of me to say. But why do I have to wake her up? She already yelled at me once today."

"Yeah, well she's been yelling at me for the past year."

"Exactly! You're used to it!"

"I thought you wanted us to _stop_ fighting?"

"I do... I just..."

"It's okay." They heard a mumble from the backseat. "I'm awake."

The boys turned around at the same time to look at her.

"Did we wake you up?" Scott asked her.

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know. I woke up and heard you. I don't know if one had to do with the other though."

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked her.

Her lower lip puckered out. "I'm just tired and I look like a bag lady."

"You look fine!" Stiles said quickly to try to stop the tears before they turned into sobs again. "Besides, you've only got one class. You can leave as soon as it's over." Lydia nodded. Stiles bit his lip. "You know... I... think I have another shirt back there. If you wear it over your shirt now, maybe that will dress it up...slightly." The three of them got out of the jeep and Stiles went to the back to see if he could find the long-sleeved plaid shirt. When he did, he handed it over to Lydia, but cocked his head to the side as he finally got a closer look at what she was wearing.

"What?" Lydia asked with a slight panic as she took the shirt from him.

Stiles shook his head. "Nothing...It's just... I'm pretty sure that's my shirt."

Lydia's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Of course it is. You just gave it to me."

"No, not the one in your hand, the one you're wearing." Lydia looked down at the shirt she had on.

"It was in my dresser."

Then he lowered his eyes. "And I'm pretty sure those are my pants."

Both of their eyes widened when they realized. Lydia covered her face in embarrassment. "Oh my God. I'm wearing your sleep-over clothes."

"I never realized I didn't bring them home."

"It was the only thing that felt comfortable this morning." She told him.

"It's fine." He reassured her before she started crying again. "Just maybe...roll the sleeves... and the waist band, because the pants are dragging on the ground."

Lydia nodded. "Thank you."

Stiles smirked. "You're welcome. I'll see you inside."

Scott had already walked away, so Stiles walked alone into the school. Once inside, he immediately spotted Allison putting her books away. He smiled to himself and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and kissing her neck in one swift motion.

Allison jumped and spun around quickly. "Hey!" She said, but something sounded off.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Why would something be wrong?"

Stiles creased his brow. "Because you jumped and now you're being weird."

"Sorry, I'm just... my mind was somewhere else." She took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around his neck, then kissed him slowly. "Hi," She said with a smiled as she pulled away.

"Well, that was more like what I expecting."

Allison giggled. "So...I was thinking that tonight you could come to my place."

"Isn't your dad home?"

She shook her head sadly. "He pushed it back even further to Thursday. Because tomorrow is the full moon. Lydia reminded me yesterday."

"Speaking of Lydia... I should warn you-"

Allison looked over his shoulder at that point and raised an eyebrow.

"Why is Lydia wearing your clothes?"

"That's what I was trying to tell you...she didn't realize they were mine...well except for the plaid shirt. I gave her that this morning."

"This _morning_? What? When she woke up in your bed?"

"What?!" Stiles, wasn't sure if he thought it was funny or if he was angry. It was a mixture of both. "No! Scott and I picked her up, and the shirt was in the jeep. You should have seen her without the shirt."

"You saw her without a shirt on?!"

"No! Well...not today! And I meant without the plaid shirt. She's wearing my other shirt underneath it."

"What?!"

Lydia spotted Allison and she was about to walk over to her, when she felt someone grab her arm.

She jerked it away, and at the same time saw that it was Isaac.

"If you value your life, I wouldn't go over there at the moment."

"Why?" She asked as she looked back and forth from him to Stiles and Allison. Right as Isaac answered her, she realized that Allison didn't look happy and she and Stiles were definitely in an argument.

"They're fighting about you. Although it's a little different than the other fights they have about you."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, normally it's Stiles complaining about you and Allison sticking up for you. This time though, it's sort of just the other way around. Allison is accusing Stiles of cheating on her with you. He's trying to convince her he's not and that neither of you would do that to her."

"Well, he's right."

"And she's telling him that you've done it before."

"But they weren't together. We never would have done anything if they were still together."

"That's what he said too."

Lydia looked back at them and Stiles grabbed Allison's arm and led her around the corner.

"Where'd they go?" Lydia asked, turning back to Isaac.

He made a face. "Supply closet."

"You're kidding." She rolled her eyes.

"I wish I was." Lydia couldn't help but notice the tinge of jealousy and hurt in his voice. She almost felt bad. Then she noticed his ear perked up again. "Oh wait...they're still fighting."

"What are they saying?"

"He told her that she's acting strange, and- oh shit. I got to go."

"Wha- Isaac!" Lydia called out. All of a sudden, Stiles came back around the corner.

"Lahey!" Stiles yelled, catching the attention of other students in the hallway.

"Stiles!" Allison came around the corner frantic. "Don't!"

He was headed in the direction that Isaac had just gone, but Scott came out of nowhere and put a hand on his brother's chest. They were close enough to Lydia so that even though they weren't speaking loud, she could still hear them.

"Get your paw off of me." Stiles said through clenched teeth.

"Calm down." Scott demanded in his Alpha tone.

"Your beta kissed my girlfriend." Lydia's eyes widened and she looked over to Allison who looked extremely guilty. Scott looked over Stiles's shoulder to see Allison. It was at that moment that the bell rang.

"Go to class." Scott told Stiles. "I'll talk to him."

Lydia took a deep breath and walked off in the direction toward her class with Allison. "Hey," she said to her best friend as they walked into the classroom. "What was that about?"

Lydia didn't miss the sideways glance Allison gave her before saying, "Isaac kissed me last night, and I pushed him away. I told Stiles about it and you saw what happened next."

The banshee decided to take this as an opportunity to casually convince Allison that there was nothing going on between her and Stiles... Hell...they never even forgave each other! "That's kind of messed up... for him to kiss you when he knows you're with someone."

"Yeah...it is... isn't it?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lydia asked her. Allison turned to Lydia to respond, but stopped as the principal walked in to the room, with what could only be their new teacher.

"Class," the principal addressed them and Lydia turned to face forward, mouth dropping slightly. "I'd like to introduce you to your new teacher who is here to take Mrs. Finch's place."

Allison and Lydia didn't need an introduction. It was Peter Hale.


	3. Flat Tires and Best Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, I turned my computer on today to post the next chapter and saw the chapter from last night just sitting there not having been submitted. Oops!
> 
> Also, I just want to say that until like chapter 15 or 16, I wrote these prior to season 6 airing. Also, I've been writing this series for over a year and had outlines for this fic even before I finished IJAMOT. But as I'm re-reading these chapters there are lines and plot points that are similar to season 6 and it freaks me out just a tiny bit... that's all I'm saying.

He introduced himself as Mr. Pasternak, probably to avoid the inevitable stir that surrounded the last name 'Hale. 'Aside from a few knowing glances he gave the two girls, Peter was a surprisingly normal teacher. That didn't mean the girls wanted to stick around any longer than needed, and beat the entire class to the door once the bell rang. Allison rounded the corner with Lydia on her heels and ran right into Stiles, who was walking next to Scott.

"Whoa!" Stiles exclaimed as he caught her. "What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's Peter!"

"What?"

"Peter's the new teacher that took over for Mrs. Finch."

Before she had finished the sentence, Scott was already barreling toward the classroom. No one else was there when he got in. Peter looked up from his desk, and Scott flipped his claws out.

"Put those away, Scott." Peter said calmly.

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm enriching young minds."

"Do you even know the first thing about biology?"

Peter shrugged. "I'm pretty good at human anatomy. I've done a few dissections in my day-" Scott was on him in a flash, his hand around Peter's throat. "Ahh, still too soon?" Scott kept his grip. Peter sighed. "Look, Scott. I swear to you, I'm a changed man. I'm just here to help."

"I don't need your help." Scott said through bared teeth, but loosened his grip slightly.

"No, you just don't want my help. There's something here. I know that you know that."

"You don't know anything." Scott sighed and pulled his hand away from Peter's neck. "Besides...there's always _some_ thing here. This is Beacon Hills after all."

Peter adjusted his shirt as the rest of the class began to filter in. "You may want to take a seat. The bell is going to ring soon."

Scott sensed his brother at his side and turned to him, seeing the fixed glare on his face. "Come on, Stiles." Scott told him. "Let's sit."

Stiles turned to him in surprise. "You mean we just have to deal with him teaching us?"

Scott looked back at Peter, then back to Stiles. "For now."

* * *

"So do we think he did it?" Lydia asked as she sat down at the lunch table. It was reminiscent of their earlier days as friends, since the only people there at the moment were Scott, Allison, and Stiles. Scott had suggested to Isaac that sitting with them was probably not the best idea, Kira (with the urging of Scott) decided to sit with the beta, and the sophomores didn't share the same lunch hour.

"Do we think who did what?" Scott asked, completely oblivious.

Stiles and Allison exchanged looks with each other. Lydia rested her head on her hand as she watched the exchange, her eyes beginning to droop, then Allison turned to Scott. "Peter and Mrs. Finch!" The brunette yelled slightly, then lowered her voice before adding. "Do we think he killed her?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't know. He says he didn't do it."

"And what? We believe him?" Stiles asked incredulously. "When has Peter Hale ever given us a reason to trust anything he says?"

Scott shook his head and shrugged. "He hasn't."

"So, he says he has nothing to do with a mysterious death and we're just going to take his word for it?"

Scott shook his head. "I didn't say that... it's just... I mean...he's not being ruled out as a suspect, but I just don't think we're going to find anything there."

"Look, Scott..." Stiles began again. "There's one thing you need to remember. No matter what Peter does to actually help us, he's always got his own agenda. Sometimes that agenda works in our favor, other times it doesn't. He's never on our side, and he'll never be on our side. Don't forget that."

Scott nodded, taking his brother's words to heart, and turned back to his food. "You're being quiet, Lydia." Scott said and looked up to see the strawberry blonde with her head on the table asleep.

"Why is she asleep? Is she okay?" Allison asked.

"She's still sleep walking." Stiles told her. "Yesterday she ended up in the backseat of my jeep after you brought her home. So apparently she was up all night."

They heard a sniffle come from the banshee. "Lydia?" Scott questioned.

"I can't." She mumbled and sobbed. "I can't."

"What can't you do?" He asked.

"Lydia?" Stiles said softly.

Lydia opened her eyes and slowly sat up taking in her surroundings. Then she brought her hand up to her cheek and looked at her fingers.

"Was I crying?" She asked quietly.

The three friends nodded. "Do you remember why?" Stiles asked.

She shook her head. "I was at the animal clinic. That's all I remember." She wiped her eyes. "It was probably just a nightmare. No biggie."

Allison looked at Stiles, and saw the concern written on his face. She bit her lip then slowly stood up. "I'm gonna...go to the library."

Stiles turned to his girlfriend and made a move to get up. "I'll go with you."

"No!" She said quickly. "I just...I want to be by myself for a bit."

She walked away before Stiles had a chance to respond. He looked down, his forehead crinkling in thought.

"Are you okay?" Lydia asked him.

"Yeah... Yeah I'm fine." He replied then took a deep breath. "So... Peter. What's the plan?"

Scott paused a moment, confused by his brother's sudden change in topic. "Well, I say we involve him as little as possible. Any help he tries to offer will be taken with a grain of salt."

"Stiles, are you sure you're okay?" Lydia asked him with concern.

Stiles stared back, a coldness in his eyes. "Are you?"

No. She wasn't. And he must have known that. He always knew. "I'm great." She lied.

He nodded, knowing it wasn't true. "Me too."

He was lying as well and she could tell.

They locked eyes for a moment, before Lydia looked away.

* * *

Stiles slammed his locker closed.

"Dare I ask what's wrong this time?" Scott asked his brother as he changed his shirt.

"My girlfriend kissed another guy and now she's ignoring me."

"I thought she said that Isaac kissed her, and she didn't kiss him back."

"Yeah... she did say that." Stiles sat down on the bench.

"And you don't believe her?"

"Look...I may not have super hearing and be able to listen to heartbeats, but you've got to admit, I'm pretty good at pin pointing the people who aren't being completely honest...and right now, Allison's giving me some less-than-trusting vibes."

"So...are you going to talk to her about it?"

"Nope. I'm going to give her a chance to come to me. If I say something to her, I look like a jealous boyfriend."

"But you _are_ the jealous boyfriend."

"Who says I'm jealous?"

Scott raised an eyebrow. "You mean you're not?"

"I know...kind of out of character for me, right?"

"So, either that means, you're confident that nothing is happening with Allison and Isaac...or...you don't care if something does."

Stiles didn't dignify the comment with a response. Instead he grabbed his bag and walked out the door. As he neared his jeep, he noticed Lydia's car still sitting there. Then he saw Lydia sitting down next to it. She had her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on them.

"Lydia?" He called to her. Her head popped up and she smiled when she saw him. He walked past the jeep and over to her. "What happened? Did you leave your keys?"

"No, I've got them." She held her keys up.

"Okay...so...then why are you just sitting there?" She held her hand out and he grabbed onto it to lift her up off of the ground. Once she was standing, she wiped her pants off then took a step to the side and motioned to her driver's side tire.

"It's flat."

"Maybe you ran over a nail and the air was just slowly leaking out over night."

Lydia shrugged. "Maybe. Your guess is as good as mine."

"Well, where's your spare? I'll fix it." He told her and began to roll his sleeves up. Then he caught her look. The one that said she was guilty. He sighed and put his sleeve back. "You never replaced it, did you?" Lydia shook her head. Stiles sighed. "That was like two years ago! God, Lyd...I told you like twenty times to replace it." The familiar nickname rolled off his tongue effortlessly. It took a moment for either of them to realize what he'd called her.

"I know! I just... I had a lot on my mind and I kept forgetting."

Stiles nodded slowly, putting the pieces together, but decided not to dwell on it. He shook his head. "Did you call a tow truck yet?"

Lydia nodded. "Yeah. They're on their way." She looked away from him and touched the hood of the car.

"Do you want me to wait with you?"

She turned back to him, a hopeful look on her face for a moment, before remembering they weren't friends again. "You don't have to." She told him, as she turned back around.

"Don't be stupid. I'm not leaving you alone. This is Beacon Hills. Who knows what kind of creature your tow truck driver could be. Besides, there's a killer out there, and we don't know anything about them. How do you know your tire isn't apart of some bigger plan?"

Lydia raised an eyebrow. "Was that supposed to comfort me?"

He shook his head as he thought about what he said. "I'm not sure. I think I lost my way about halfway through."

The two shared a look and laughed. They were quiet for a moment before Lydia spoke again. "Today felt like old times. And by _old times_ I mean freshman year old. When it was just me, you, and Scott."

Stiles smiled and nodded. "Before the werewolves and the kanimas."

"And the druids and the kitsunes."

"Werecoyotes...werejaguars."

"Banshees." Lydia looked down. Stiles was thinking about how to respond when Lydia's phone began to ring. " It's my mom." She told him as she looked at the screen, then answered the call. "Hey, Mom... What?" Lydia sighed. "Okay... yeah, I'll...I'll figure something out. Bye" She hung up and Stiles knew the look all too well.

"What's wrong?" He asked carefully, knowing that she was now on the verge of tears.

"My mom had a conference in San Francisco today. She was supposed to be home soon, but the roads have been closed all afternoon, because of some kind of accident. Her and one of her friends are even talking about getting a hotel for the night because they can't get back. And she's got the credit card." Lydia took a deep breath and slumped against the car. "Which means...if I can't pay for the tow or the tire, I can't get home."

Stiles looked down as he argued with himself over what to say. He was quiet for a few moments, before he saw Lydia trying to subtly wipe away a tear. "I'll take you home." He told her.

She looked up, then shook her head. "No, I don't want you to do that."

"Why not? I'm offering."

"But-"

"No buts. When the tow truck gets here, I'll take you home."

Lydia bit her lip again before suddenly throwing her arms around him in a tight hug. Stiles was frozen in place, the whole thing felt foreign. Then, just as Lydia was beginning to realize what she'd done and regret it, Stiles slowly moved his arms and wrapped them around her tiny frame. He felt her begin to sob against his chest, so he just let her cry.

"I'm sorry." She told him as she pulled away. "I don't know what's wrong with me. This past week has just been really draining."

"It's fine. I get it." He looked up over her head. "There's the tow truck."

* * *

"Deaton! I'm here." Scott called as he walked into the clinic.

Deaton poked his head out of the exam room. "Come in here."

Scott looked at him curiously, before putting his bag down behind the counter and following the doctor.

"What is it?" Scott asked as he walked into the exam room. Files and pictures were laid out on the table.

"I went to the morgue yesterday to see your teacher."

"What'd you find?"

"That's the thing. I didn't find anything."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, there's no markings, no sign of anything being wrong physically. It looks as though her heart just stopped."

"Well, then what does that mean?"

"I'm not sure yet."

* * *

"Stiles?" Lydia asked as she sat in the front seat of the jeep.

"Lydia?"

She gave a small smile. "Do you think...would it be okay if instead of taking me home, you took me to your house?" Stiles didn't say anything at first, and Lydia quickly added, "It's just, my mom won't be home tonight and I don't want to be by myself." She quickly realized how that could be taken and added, "You know...if I start sleepwalking."

"So, you want to stay the whole night?"

She shrugged, "I mean...if that's okay?"

"I'd have to ask my dad, but I think it'll be fine."

* * *

Allison had her History book open as she tapped on the pages with a pen. She was having trouble concentrating and she couldn't figure out why. The doorbell rang, and she immediately jumped off of her bed and ran downstairs. She swung the door open to reveal Isaac.

"What are you doing here?" She sort of snapped.

"I wanted to see you."

Allison shook her head and looked down as she took a step back so that he could walk inside. "I told you earlier...I can't do this."

He stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "Allison," He said her name and touched her arm.

She felt a jolt of electricity run through her body and shivered, but made no move to stop him. He let his hand slip off her arm and land on her waist, bringing his other hand up so that he was holding her in front of him. She lifted her eyes and made contact with his. He slowly began to lean in and she put her hand on his chest in an effort to push him back. He stopped, searching her eyes, mentally asking her what she really wanted. The hand on his chest slowly rose to his shoulder, and suddenly his lips were crashing into hers. Her arms were wrapping around his neck and her legs around his waist as he lifted her up.

* * *

"We're home!" Stiles heard his father call when the front door opened. He was laying on the couch watching a movie and heard the pitter-patter of tiny feet run past him. He sat up, looking toward the door, and saw Kayce dropping her bag.

"How was your day, Kayce?" Stiles asked her.

"Boys are mean."

"Are you getting picked on?" He asked with concern. She nodded and he turned to his father. "Dad!"

"I'm handling it." The sheriff replied.

"I hope that means you're going to arrest him."

The sheriff sighed. "I can't arrest an 8 year old for saying something mean about a fellow class mate."

"What did he say?" Stiles demanded.

"He said my backpack was stupid and for babies."

Stiles gasped. "How dare he! Anna and Elsa are the coolest sisters on the planet!" When he replayed what he said he chuckled quietly and added. "No pun intended." Kayce and their father were just staring at him. "You know..because Elsa's an Ice Queen, and froze Anna's heart and she was-"

"I got it." The sheriff cut him off.

Kayce shrugged. "I don't get it." Stiles sighed, and was about to explain before his dad cut him off again.

"So, where's Lydia?"

"In my room. She wanted to take a nap and I was guarding the door. You know...to make sure she didn't leave the house while she was asleep."

The Sheriff furrowed his brow. "If it's that serious then-"

"No...she'll be fine." He said quickly, not wanting his dad to worry. He already had enough to worry about, and Stiles still didn't know how to tell him that Peter Hale was his new teacher. Stilinski nodded, unconvinced.

"Kayce, can you go check on-"

"I'm going." She sighed, obviously sensing the father/son conversation coming on.

"Stiles."

"Dad." Stilinski opened his mouth to speak, but Stiles quickly cut him off. "If you're going to ask me what happened between me and Lydia, you're not getting an answer."

"But-"

"We just had a fight. A _really_ awful fight, and now we're trying to move past it."

The Sheriff sighed. "I'm just worried."

"About what?"

"You. I remember how badly you took it last time, and I just don't want to see that happen again."

"Don't worry. _That_ will _never_ happen again."

"You sound confident."

He smiled. "I am."

Stilinski nodded. "Okay then. Good talk. Go wake Lydia up and let her know I'm about to start making dinner."

Stiles nodded and went upstairs. He got to his room and the door was opened a crack. He pushed it slowly and saw Lydia asleep. Visions flooded his memory banks on the times he'd seen her just like this, sleeping peacefully in his bed. As he stared at her, for a moment, the past year hadn't happened.

"Lydia?" He said, and she didn't stir. He walked over to the bed and shook her shoulder softly. "Lyd?" She groaned and opened her eyes slowly. "Wake up, Sleepyhead. My dad's making dinner." Lydia smiled sleepily.

"I remember your dad's cooking."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? Because if you did, I wouldn't think you'd be smiling about it."

Lydia chuckled and sat up. "Do you remember the day my dad left? I came over and crashed here for the night?" Stiles nodded. "Your dad made chili. And I remember sitting around the table and imagining that just for a moment, that I was apart of a normal family. It's actually one of my happiest memories. Now every time I eat or even smell chili, it feels like home...and this is the only house I ever ate chili at."

Stiles looked down, wanting so badly to respond to her thoughts about this being her home, even after all the crap they had been through. Instead, what came out was, "Well...his chili is actually pretty good." He looked back at her, hurt evident in her face, but he could tell she was trying to mask it. He stood up and turned back to her. "Do you want to come downstairs? Maybe we can watch a movie with the munchkins."

Lydia nodded. "Sounds good. Just give me a minute."

Stiles nodded once and turned around to head out the door, but something stopped him in the doorway. He heard a sniffle and turned back to look at the strawberry blonde sitting on his bed. As he stared at her, he had the sudden realization that this was his best friend. Despite everything that they had been through, despite the stupid shit that they had both done, despite the fact he swore to himself he would never forgive her; no matter how many times he told her and everybody else that they weren't friends, she was _still_ his best friend. He turned back toward her and walked over to her. As he stood in front of her, she stopped abruptly, obviously not having realized until that point that he was still there. She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. He held his hands out in front of him and, after some confusion, she put her hands in his. He pulled her up until she was standing and then wrapped her in the tightest hug she'd ever received from him. The tears she'd desperately been trying to hold in began to overflow as she squeezed him even tighter.

"I've missed you." He whispered in her ear. "So much."


	4. Fear and Loathing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, shortly after I began posting this story on Fanfiction.net, a girl on there (Sarahk2011) PM'd me with an idea that at that point hadn't occurred to me, but I liked it so much that decided to use it. The scene wasn't exactly what she had suggested, but it was where my brain went with the idea. (To avoid spoilers, I've listed the scene at the second author's note at the bottom.)
> 
> That being said, if anybody else has ideas for this story or ideas for another story that you would like to see written, please let me know! I can't guarantee I'll use it, but if I like the idea and end up using it in some capacity, I'll definitely give you credit for it. Also, I would love a challenge, so if you want to see something written even if it's not Stydia, let me know!

Lydia didn't want to let go of him, and truthfully he didn't want to let go of her either.

"Stiles, I-" His father was at his door. Lydia pulled away from Stiles abruptly and he suddenly missed the contact. She wiped her eyes, trying to be discreet, but the action didn't go unnoticed by the sheriff. "Uh.. Sorry. I was just...I'm making spaghetti and I couldn't remember if you liked mushrooms or not, Lydia."

She smiled. "Mushrooms are great."

"Good." He said. He would get to make his sauce the way he always did. "Good." He repeated, eyes on the two teens. He liked them together more than apart. Honestly, he'd missed Lydia being a permanent fixture in his house. "I'm just gonna..." He pointed toward the stairs and began to walk away before stopping and turning back to them. "It's nice to have you here again, Lydia."

Lydia smiled. "It's good to be back." Stilinski walked away and the banshee turned back to Stiles. "So...we're..."

"Best friends." He told her. "Best friends are forever. Right?"

"I was beginning to doubt it...but I guess they are." She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said the other day that we weren't going to be best friends again anytime soon."

Stiles shrugged. "Things change." Then he gave her a funny look. "I thought you hated mushrooms."

Lydia shrugged. "Things change. Plus, I know that your dad likes putting mushrooms in his sauce, and I can always eat around them if I need to." Lydia took a deep breath. "I don't want to bring up bad memories but-"

"Then don't."

"But shouldn't we talk about-"

"Look, Lydia. I'm okay now. And I'm sorry for the things that I said and did when I was angry. Let's just forget it. Okay?"

Lydia let out the breath she was holding and smiled. "Okay."

"Stiles!" His door swung open again and it was Scott. "Whoa...Lydia?"

"Hi, Scott." She smiled.

"Okay...well...this is new...well...old...but new.' He rambled. "Sorry...um...Kira's coming over for dinner."

Stiles nodded. "Lydia's staying the night."

"The whole night?"

"My mom's out of town. I don't want to be alone... And I don't have a car." She groaned when she remembered.

"Hey, we'll figure it out." Stiles told her and rubbed her arm.

Scott's eyes widened for a moment, but the other two didn't see him. "Hey, Stiles. Can I talk to you? Privately?"

Stiles opened his mouth to protest, but Lydia spoke first. "Yeah, I'll just go downstairs and start that movie we talked about."

Scott waited until he heard Lydia downstairs, then turned to his brother. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what happened to 'we're not friends, we're just civil.' Last time I checked, people who were just civil to one another, didn't offer their house to stay in, and comfort each other by rubbing their arm like this." Scott demonstrated the arm rub on his brother. "Plus, you look a lot cozier than two people who are just being civil."

"Just forget about it. We forgave each other and now we're friends again.'

"Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"I don't buy it. You don't go for that long being upset with each other to being friends again all of a sudden. It just doesn't happen."

"Well, believe it. Look... I just realized how much I missed her. And I can still get mad at her, but she's my best friend and I need her. It's been hell without her. You know it has. You were telling me the other day."

Scott nodded. "Well, then I'm happy for you. But just a reminder...you're still with Allison."

"And Lydia's with Aiden. And you're with Kira. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm just saying that you guys looked like a little more than friends when I walked in."

"Nothing was happening."

"I'm not saying it was. I'm just saying you two have a lot of history. Just don't forget that's what it is...history."

Stiles shook his head. "Unbelievable. You get mad because we're fighting and it's making the pack weak, so you tell us to make up. And now...what? You're mad that we're friends again?"

"I said make _up_. Not make _out_."

Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but seemed to think better of it, so he closed it and took a deep breath. "How about you let _me_ worry about how I act around _my_ friends. It doesn't concern you."

"It does when your actions affect half of my pack!"

"What actions?!" Stiles's voice raised an octave (and a few decibels).

"You and Lydia-"

Stiles cut him off with a humorless laugh. "Seriously? You need to stop. You don't know what you're talking about."

"Maybe because you won't tell me anything! All I know is that you and Lydia slept together and then everything fell to shit."

"Wait...do you think I cheated on Allison?" Scott's silence spoke volumes. "Oh my God! Okay... so you want me to tell you something? Well, here it goes. Lydia and I had a.." He paused as he searched for the right word "Fling.. _while Allison and I were broken up almost two years ago._ It only became a big deal because Allison found out last summer. _"_ Scott was definitely not expecting that.

"But Allison-"

"Is cheating on me with Isaac." He finished.

"What?" He heard from his doorway. It was Lydia and he'd wondered how long she'd been standing there.

"So," Stiles continued, as he looked back at Scott. "At least I had the common decency to wait until I was no longer together with someone before jumping into bed with someone else. If you want to talk about someone's actions affecting the pack, talk to your betas." With that, Stiles pushed past Scott and Lydia moved out of the doorway so he could come through. "I need to get some air." He mumbled to Lydia.

He went downstairs and opened the front door. Kira stood there, about to knock.

"Oh! Hey, Stiles." She told him as he went past her, Lydia right on his heels. "Lydia." She acknowledged the banshee. Neither one of them acknowledged the kitsune. "Great talk." She mumbled to herself as the door closed behind her. She looked up and saw Scott coming down the stairs. "What are they fighting about now?"

"Actually... they're not."

"What?"

"They made up, and I'm a terrible person."

Kira smiled sympathetically. "You're not terrible." She told him as she wrapped her arms around his neck then gave him a peck on his lips.

"Thanks...but I kind of am... I basically accused him of cheating on Allison with Lydia."

"But Stiles wouldn't do that."

"I know...Like I said... terrible."

Stiles sat down on the front steps and took a deep breath.

"Allison's cheating on you?" Lydia asked quietly from behind him. He didn't reply right away and she took that time to sit down next to him.

"Yeah." He told her. "I mean... I don't have much proof. It's really just a feeling...but...It's one of those feelings where I know I'm right."

"Are you going to talk to her about it?"

He shook his head and shrugged. "I don't know." He sighed. "I mean...what if I _am_ wrong? Or what if we break up and she doesn't let me see Nic anymore? I mean...I love that little boy." Then he chuckled. "I mean, I love kids in general, but-"Lydia looked down and Stiles groaned. "I wasn't-"

"I know." She told him, smiling reassuringly. "Look, you love Nic, but do you still love Allison?"

"Of course I do." He told her.

"But?" She asked sensing the word coming.

He sighed. "But I don't know if it's in the way you're talking about. Recently, it's sort of felt like we've just been going through the motions."

"I'm sorry."

He shrugged. "It's not your fault."

Lydia thought thought about that statement for a moment. "But isn't it?" Stiles didn't say anything and Lydia changed the subject slightly. "Has it really been almost two years? I thought you guys broke up in the middle of junior year."

"No," Stiles gave her a funny look. "We got _back together_ in the middle of junior year. We broke up the summer before. Maybe you were just thinking that because it was in the middle of _your_ junior year. Remember, you were taking that AP College course that summer."

"That's right!" She said, as she recalled the memory, then she bumped her arm against Stiles. "You helped me study."

He laughed. "I don't know if that could be called _helping_."

"Hey guys," Scott said sheepishly from the door. "Dad said dinner is ready. And I...I wanted to apologize. For jumping to conclusions."

"It's fine." Stiles told him with a wave of his hand. "It's forgotten." He stood up and grabbed Lydia's hand to help her up.

"I'm starving." Lydia told them as she walked past Scott. "Mmm...This smells amazing!"

Her voice was distant to Stiles who was staring at Scott outside the front door. Scott was looking at him like he was in trouble. Stiles smiled and clapped his brother on the back. "We're good. Don't worry about it."

* * *

When Lydia awoke the next morning, she had forgotten where she was for a moment. She let her surroundings sink in and realized she was in Stiles's bedroom, but it wasn't until she went to move her hand, that she realized that Stiles was holding her. She was laying on her left side, her right hand on her stomach, his fingers linked with hers. She distinctly remembered falling asleep on her back while his back was turned to her, and it made her wonder what exactly had happened in the middle of the night that put them in this position. He was holding her tightly against him and she really didn't want to move. Suddenly, she realized that her hand that was draped over her stomach, was touching bare skin. She looked down at the floor and saw the shirt she was wearing when she went to bed on the ground- and she didn't wear a bra yesterday at all. She jerked out of Stiles's grip so fast that he woke up.

"Lydia?" He groaned sleepily as he looked over and saw her putting her shirt back on.

"Why was I not wearing a shirt?" She demanded to know.

"What?" He asked. It was still too early to process words.

She crossed her arms. "Why was I not wearing a shirt?" She repeated slowly. "And why were you spooning me?"

"Slow down." He told her calmly as he sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to remember. "You took your shirt off last night. I don't know why...you were mumbling something about boobs." She looked down, feeling slightly silly for freaking out. "As for the spooning...I have no idea. Sorry."

"Are you apologizing for not knowing or apologizing for doing it?"

"I don't know..." he said slowly. "Which answer is the right one?" She smiled softly and shrugged as she sat back down on the bed. Stiles let out a deep breath he didn't realize he'd been holding in. "We should probably get ready for school."

"Hmm..." She said as if she was thinking. "Nope, that's not the right answer."

Stiles laughed. "Come on." He said as he pushed her lightly to get up.

"Wait." She told him. "Do you think it was a smart idea for us to sleep in the same bed?"

He shrugged ."Why would that be a big deal? You and I used to share a bed all the time when you came over."

"But yesterday morning, Allison was accusing you of cheating on her with me."

"How did you know that?" Stiles asked her, a confused look on his face.

Lydia bit her lip and shrugged. "Isaac gave me a play-by-play."

Stiles shook his head. "Look, leave Allison to me. You and I sleeping in the same bed, is a lot more innocent than what she and Isaac have been doing."

"So you say...I mean you just found out yesterday about-" She didn't finish her sentence, because Stiles looked down. "Wait...has this been going on longer?"

"Don't worry about it." He told her quickly and got off the bed. "Come on. School time."

* * *

"What is fear?" Mr. 'Pasternak' asked the class. "Miss Martin." Lydia was avoiding eye contact with Peter, which must have been the reason he'd called on her.

She sighed and looked up and off to the side as if she was thinking. "It's a seven point word in Scrabble." The comment elicited giggles from her classmates.

Peter rolled his eyes. "Okay, settle down." He turned back to Lydia. "How about a real answer this time, Miss Martin."

Lydia bit her tongue to stop herself from saying something she'd regret and took a deep breath. "It's an emotional response induced by a perceived threat. A feeling of anxiety or dread, when you think that something bad is going to happen. Physical signs of fear include accelerated breathing and heart rate, sweating, piloerection, hyperglycemia and dyspepsia. "

Peter leaned over her desk slowly. He extended his claws, and grabbed her wrist in such a way that no one else in the class could see them, then his eyes turned a cold, steel blue. "Do I make you afraid, Miss Martin?"

Lydia stared him in the face. "No."

Peter quirked an eyebrow and released her wrist. "Interesting." He said, then turned his back to her and began walking away. "Well, I certainly make your friend, Miss Argent a little wary."

Lydia looked over to Allison, who quickly hid her hands and closed her eyes.

"Allison?"

"Ah!" Peter turned around and looked at the banshee. " _Now_ you're scared."

"No. Now I'm angry." Lydia snapped at him.

Peter continued staring at her as he spoke to Allison. "Miss Argent, if you need to take a beat, you may leave." Allison quickly got up. Lydia made a move to follow her. "Sit!" Peter said forcefully as he leaned forward, extending his arms to effectively trap her. Lydia sat back, continuing to stare at Peter. After a moment his expression turned to a smirk. "Congratulations Miss Martin. You may not be scared, but all of your classmates are terrified for you. You must be well-loved." Peter turned his back to her once again and Lydia was suddenly overcome with emotion. She quickly got up and ran out of the room.

"Lydia?" she heard Stiles's voice. She looked up, catching a glimpse of Scott as he rounded a corner, presumably to find Allison. "Are you okay?" He asked as he neared her. She shook her head and suddenly Stiles's arms were around her and she was sobbing into his chest. "Come on." He said after a moment. "Let's get out of here."

* * *

"Voodoo?" Scott asked. He wasn't sure he heard Deaton correctly.

"It's a working theory."

"You think Mrs. Finch was killed by voodoo."

"Right now, it's the only thing that's making sense. I'll let you know if I come up with something else."

"Thanks." Scott told him and hung up the phone.

"Voodoo?" Isaac asked. "Did I hear that correctly?" Scott nodded. "So, what? We're looking for a witch doctor?"

Scott shrugged." Not necessarily." The boys heard a snarling noise come from below them. "We better go check on them. If we break something else, Lydia's going to kill us."

"Is she okay?" Isaac asked him as the two boys head for the basement stairs. "I heard she left school early."

"Stiles is with her. I told him to let me know if he needed anything. I also told Kira to stop by." Isaac nodded, and Scott thought about what Stiles told him the night before. "Hey, Isaac?"

"Yeah?"

"You and Allison..."Scott heard the beta's heartbeat pick up. "I know that you kissed her, but...did she kiss you back?"

"No. It was just me." Lie.

Scott eyes narrowed and Isaac knew he'd been caught. "Did you sleep with her?"

Isaac gulped. "No." Another lie. Scott looked down, as guilt seeped in. How could this have happened right under his nose?

"Are you in love with her?" His heart skipped a beat when Scott asked. He didn't need to answer the question for the Alpha to know the truth. "Does she feel the same way?"

"I don't know." The first truthful thing he'd said. Scott nodded.

* * *

"She's asleep in my room." Stiles told Kira as she walked inside of the house. The TV was on, and toys were scattered across the floor.

"Fun night?" she asked.

"Yeah, loads." Stiles told her, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Dad has a late night at the station and it's a full moon, so I'm stuck on babysitting duty."

"Is that why she's here instead of at her own house?"

"Her mom's still out of town. From what I gather, she only needed to go yesterday, but the conference itself lasts for three days. When her boss found out she was stuck there, he told her to go to the other two days of workshops. She's getting her hotel and all of her meals reimbursed, so it's a pretty sweet deal. Unfortunately, that means Lydia would be at home alone, and we still haven't figured out her sleep-walking thing yet."

Kira nodded and looked past Stiles and toward the stairs. "Oh, hey Lydia!" Lydia didn't respond. "Okay...that's just creepy. You guys talked about it, but I had no idea."

"Lydia?" Stiles said. She didn't wake up, she just kept walking toward him. As she got closer, he noticed her teeth chattering. "Are you cold?"

"Body heat." She whispered so softly that he barely understood her.

"Wh-" He tried to ask, but suddenly, her arms were around his neck and her lips were on his.

He immediately felt a chill in his bones. He was no longer standing in his living room, but trying to stay afloat in ice cold water. Something was in his hand, a _device_ of some sort. What was he supposed to be doing again? It was hard to think when Lydia was kissing him. Was this real? Was he just imagining it? Either way, he was going to make the most of it. His back was up against a wall, and he took this opportunity to take control of the situation, flipping them around so that Lydia was the one with her back against the wall. A new-found energy began to surge through him, and there was a vibration in his hand. The device. That was their way out.

Lydia and Stiles pushed away from each other at the same time. They were still standing in the middle of Stiles's living room. Fortunately, no one was against a wall. Although, Kira was staring wide-eyed at them.

Lydia covered her mouth. "Oh my God."

"What the _fuck_ was _that_?!" Stiles yelled.

"I'd sort of like to know the same thing." Kira told him.

Stiles looked at her, confused for a moment, before shaking his head. "No, not the kiss. I'm talking about the water and the cold, and the over-sized video game controller."

"The what?" The kitsune asked.

"You saw it too?" Lydia asked Stiles, avoiding Kira's question.

"Yes! What was it?!"

"You know that you guys were standing right here the entire time, right?" Kira asked them.

"It was..."Lydia started to tell him, but suddenly she couldn't remember. "It was.. what were we talking about?"

Stiles opened his mouth. "I don't know..." He was confused, then he looked slightly angry. "Why did you kiss me?"

Lydia shook her head. "I don't know. I don't remember doing it."

"Well, I remember it." Kira told them. "It was a little awkward if you ask me."

Stiles shook his head. "I need to take a shower." He told the girls and walked away. Lydia felt a sob escape her chest and sat down on the couch.

"Hey," Kira said soothingly as she sat down next to her. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know." She shook her head. "I've just been really emotional lately. And I just feel like he's upset with me and we just made up."

"It's not your fault." Kira told her. "You were asleep. You didn't know what you were doing... and FYI... he kissed you back, so either way..."

Lydia laughed humorlessly. "Hey...can you not tell anyone about this. It didn't mean anything, and I feel like it would just make things worse."

Kira nodded. "Yeah... sure."

"Not even Scott?"

"Not even Scott." Kira agreed.

* * *

It was in the wee hours of the morning when the wolves were walking outside to leave Lydia's lake house. Scott was holding the door open for everyone and Allison was the last one inside. He shut the door quickly, before she could walk out.

"Scott, what are you doing?"

"How long has this thing with Isaac been going on?"

Allison paled for a moment "I don't kn-"

"Don't play dumb with me, Allison."

Allison swallowed, as tears formed in her eyes. "Two months." she told him barely above a whisper.

Scott's eyes widened. "Wha- Are you serious?" Allison nodded as Scott was trying to form words and complete thoughts. "Well...I'd say that things have gone on long enough, wouldn't you?"

Allison hung her head. "I'm sorry."

" _I'm_ not the one you should be apologizing to. Just so you know...Stiles is the one who told me something was going on." Allison's eyes widened. "So, you need to figure out which one you want to be with and break it off with the other. Like yesterday."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The suggestion that was made was that Stiles could touch Lydia and see what she saw, similar to what happened in Rome during IJAMOT. So, from there I came up with the kiss and him seeing the Titanic flashback.


	5. Pack Meeting

Stiles showed up at Allison's house after school. She'd asked him to come over, saying they needed to talk. He had decided that yeah...they really did. And of course, he hadn't seen Nic since before Allison had.

He rang the doorbell, and Chris opened the door.

'Hey, Stiles." The man gave a tired smile.

"Hey, Chris. How was your 'guys' trip?"

"Exhausting. You should come next time."

Somehow Stiles didn't think there would be a next time for multiple reasons, but he still nodded. "Absolutely."

"Allison's in the living room." He opened the door further so that Stiles could go inside.

He walked into the living room, and watched Allison and Dominic playing with dinosaurs. It was the little boy's new thing. He caught Allison's eye, and she looked up and smiled at him. Dominic turned to see what his mother was looking at.

"Stiles!" He yelled and ran over to the teenager, jumping up into his arms. Stiles scooped him up in one motion and Dominic threw his arms around Stiles's neck. Stiles wasn't ashamed to admit that he was Dominic's best friend. The four year-old had proclaimed it several times.

"I missed you!" The little boy whispered into his ear.

Stiles felt tears sting his eyes as he whispered back, "Yeah...I missed you too." He didn't want to let go, afraid that this may be the last hug he'd ever get.

He finally sat down with him on the floor, and the three of them played dinosaurs for a little while before Allison announced that it was time for Dominic to put his toys away and get ready for bed.

Dominic whined, but did as he was told. Allison sent her father after him to make sure everything got done.

"Come on." Allison told Stiles as she walked back into the room. She grabbed his hand and led him upstairs and into her room. She closed the door behind them, then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

He didn't kiss her back.

She realized this, and slowly pulled away from him, then sighed. He walked away and sat down on the bed and she sat next to him.

"You said we needed to talk." Stiles told her. "So, let's talk."

"Scott said..." She started after a moment "That you know about Isaac."

"I know he's a massive pain in my ass." He quipped. Mainly because, he'd had his suspicions, and he hoped he was wrong. But here she was basically confirming it.

She sighed. "I mean about us-"

"Fucking behind my back?" He finished for her. He was angry. He had the right to be.

Allison looked away, and continued. "I'm sorry I accused you of cheating with Lydia. It was the guilt I guess." Stiles didn't say anything, so she continued. "Scott said that I needed to make a decision and-"

"I wanna break up."

Allison's head popped up and her eyes widened. "What? But no... I..." Tears began to fill her eyes as she processed what he'd said. "I chose you, Stiles. I broke it off with Isaac today."

"The thing is..." He told her, getting choked up. "Is that I can't be with someone who ever _stopped_ choosing me."

"But," She began again, fighting sobs. "I love you."

He smiled sadly, tears shining in his eyes. "I love you, too." He sighed. "You just have to admit that things haven't been the same between us for awhile. I don't know if that's what drove you away to begin with, or if this thing with Isaac is what started it. But, we should be mature enough to know when to call it quits."

"I'm sorry." She told him. "Please...can we just..." She sniffled. "Can we just try this again?"

Stiles shook his head sadly. "No...But... can I just...can I make one request?"

Allison looked up, slightly hopeful. "What?"

"Don't keep Nic from me?"

Allison closed her eyes. "Of course not." She told him, then opened them again. "You're his best friend." She smiled through the tears. "I think he missed you more than he missed me." Stiles smiled sadly and lifted his hand up to her face to wipe her tears away. She leaned into his hand and took a deep breath. "Can I make a request?" He nodded. "Can I get a goodbye kiss?"

He nodded slowly, cupping her face with the hand that was already there, then pressed his lips to hers.

It got admittedly heated for a goodbye kiss, but Nic's, "Mommy!" pulled them out of it.

"Coming!" She yelled, then turned back to Stiles. "Did you want to say goodnight?"

Stiles couldn't help but feel relieved that she said 'goodnight' instead of 'goodbye'. She'd just told him that she wouldn't keep Nic from him, but this made him feel a lot better. "Yeah." He told her. "I do."

* * *

Lydia closed her eyes. "Come on." She muttered to herself. "Just go to sleep, Lyd." She tossed and turned in her bed, squeezing her eyes shut even further. Suddenly, her ears perked up at the sound of a car nearby. Her eyes popped open, and she saw the gleam from the headlights projecting onto her wall.

Who would be coming to her home in the middle of the night? She got up and looked out the window. The familiar blue jeep sat there, it's driver still inside. She felt her heart jolt in her chest, and butterflies in her stomach. She then took a deep breath. "Calm down." She told herself.

She ran downstairs and opened the front door, then leaned against the door frame. She was smirking slightly, ready to come up with some quick remark. Except…when he opened the door and stepped out, he looked absolutely wrecked. Lydia stood up straighter as he walked toward her. As he neared, she could see that he'd been crying recently.

"Stiles?" she asked him. "Are you okay?" She opened her door wider so he could walk in.

She closed the door behind him once he was inside, then turned to face him. "I broke up with Allison." He said, his voice cracking.

Lydia's eyes widened, and she felt her stomach flip. Why was she so happy about that?

"I'm so sorry." She told him sincerely as she hugged him. She felt him begin to cry again and all she could do was hug him harder. "It's okay." She whispered comfortingly in his ear.

"Sorry," He laughed humorlessly as he pulled away from her and wiped his eyes. "This is _so_ not manly."

She sighed, giving him a sympathetic smile as she touched his arm. "No one expects you to be manly." He raised an eyebrow and she closed her eyes. "That's not what I meant."

Stiles chuckled. "God, Lyd. Way to kick me when I'm down."

"I just meant," She tried to hold back her giggle. "That you _just_ broke up with your girlfriend...for the second time... but this time it's...final. It's your pity party, and you can cry if you want to."

He sighed. "I need a drink."

Lydia shook her head. "You don't need a depressant...but I can make you some coffee?" She turned to head toward the kitchen and he followed.

"It's not going to be some weak-ass, might-as-well-be-drinking-tea kind of coffee is it?"

"Of course not! Do you even remember _me_? The girl who has marathon study sessions. I better know how to make good coffee if I'm going to stay awake that long." She went to the coffee maker and began to change the filter.

"That's right." He said defensively as he sat at a bar stool. "It's Allison that doesn't know how to make coffee." The small smile he'd had on his face, suddenly fell. He sighed and looked up at her. "You're in your pajamas." He noted.

"Yeah…" She told him as she turned around after hitting start. "I was trying to sleep."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I wasn't having any success." He cracked a small smile. "Honestly," she began as she leaned onto the counter. "The best sleep I've gotten recently was at your house."

Stiles nodded and looked at the clock. "Wait a second... it's only like 9:30...You never go to bed this early."

"Yeah I know... I figured that if I tried to go to sleep earlier, maybe I'd be able to actually fall asleep sooner."

Stiles thought about that and shrugged. "Good theory."

Lydia nodded. "So...Allison..."

Stiles looked down and Lydia reached her hand over to rest it on his. "Yeah...she told me that she broke it off with Isaac... and then I broke up with her."

"Wow."

"Yeah... she said that Scott told her to choose, and she chose me."

"But the fact that Scott had to tell her choose in the first place is-"

"That's what I said!"

They both chuckled.

"Why did you come here?" Lydia asked him.

Stiles shrugged. "I don't know. I just started driving home, but ended up here instead." He looked down at their hands. He'd been subconsciously playing with her fingers and rubbing small circles on the back of her hand. "I guess I just needed to talk to someone."

"I'm surprised you'd want to talk to me." She said, subtly moving her hand away from him.

"Why?" He asked as he quirked an eyebrow.

"I thought things just got a little weird last night...You know...with the sleep walking."

"Oh." He chuckled. "I mean... obviously it was fine. I let you sleep in my bed again, didn't I? If I was too freaked out, you'd been on the couch."

"Hey!"

"What?"

"You mean to tell me you would have made me sleep on the couch instead of getting the bed? What kind of host are you?"

"Uh...only the most amazing host you'll ever have the pleasure of staying with."

She laughed. "Is that so?"

"Yeah." He smiled, but it soon faded. "I just can't believe it's really over."

"Is she still going to let you see Dominic?"

Stiles nodded. "She says she is."

Lydia could no longer hear the coffee dripping into the pot and turned around to turn it off. "That's good." She replied. She poured him a cup and handed him creamer and sugar. "Here you go."

"You're not going to have a cup?" He asked as he poured just the right amount of sugar into his cup.

"I'm trying to go to sleep, remember?"

"Oh yeah." He said as he took a large gulp of the hot liquid, and sighed contentedly. "This is really good coffee."

Lydia shrugged. "Told you."

Stiles tapped on his mug as he thought about something. With sudden realization, he lifted his head an announced, "I'm single!"

Lydia widened her eyes in amusement. "Yes you are."

"I don't know how I feel about this."

Lydia yawned. "I don't know what to tell you."

Stiles sighed. "You should go to bed. I should get home."

"You know, you could stay..." Then she shrugged. "If you want."

Stiles seemed to think about that, but then shook his head. "I should really be getting home."

"Oh...yeah...okay."

Stiles smiled. "Thanks for listening to me."

She shrugged. "What are best friends for? Am I right?" Stiles smiled. "Here," Lydia began as she grabbed his cup of coffee. "Let me get you something to take this with you."

* * *

Scott was already asleep when Stiles got home; however, his dad was not.

"Hey, son." The Sheriff said. He was sitting in his favorite armchair. All the lights were out except the one next to him. His reading glasses were on, and he had a case file in his hand with a stack in his lap.

"Hey." He said, his voice breaking as he closed the front door. He coughed to try to cover it, but who was he kidding?

"Are you okay?" His father asked as he sat up, ready to move the files away.

Stiles nodded. "Fine." He said, then sat down next to his dad, grabbing a file off of his lap. The Sheriff didn't protest.

"Did you get into another fight with Lydia?"

"Nope." Stiles said, shaking his head and reading over the file.

"Did you have a fight with Scott?"

Stiles thought about it. "Not today."

"Did Isaac piss you off again?"

Stiles scoffed. "Well, that's an everyday occurrence."

The Sheriff's eyes narrowed. "Did he do something to piss you off more than usual?"

"Oh, he did something alright."

"Well...what was it?'

Stiles put the file down for a moment, taking a deep breath as he thought about how to answer that question. "It's not so much a question of _what_ , but _who._ " His father stopped to think about his son's words, as Stiles picked up the folder once more and continued flipping through it. He was at the end when he said, "In other, possibly related, news," He closed the file and stood up. "Allison and I broke up." He dropped the folder back into his father's lap, and began to walk away. "Goodnight, Dad." Leaving the Sheriff to put the pieces together.

* * *

Scott didn't ride with Stiles to school the next day, so he didn't understand the strange vibes he was getting from his pack. Isaac was avoiding eye contact with everyone, Stiles wasn't at Allison's locker like he normally was, Allison was visibly upset, and Lydia just looked uncomfortable. That was sort of how Scott felt too.

Lydia kept glancing over at Allison and saw how upset she looked. The banshee finally closed her locker door and walked up to her. "Allison? I just...I heard about you and Stiles, so...if you need to talk or if you just want to spend the day watching sappy movies and crying into ice cream cartons then-"

Allison turned around. The expression on her face was unreadable. Suddenly, her perfume hit Lydia's nostrils. The banshee's hand flew to her mouth and she quickly ran off.

Kira saw Lydia run away and exchanged looks with Allison and then Scott, who was further down the hall. He gave her a nod and she went in the direction Lydia had gone.

"Lydia?" She called as she hesitantly walked into the bathroom. Lydia was leaning over the sink. "Are you okay?" Kira asked.

Lydia closed her eyes and nodded. "I thought I was going to be sick, but I'm fine."

"What happened?"

Lydia shrugged. "Besides, Allison purposefully wearing the perfume that makes me nauseous?"

"How do you know she did it on purpose?"

Lydia sighed. "I don't. Maybe she just wasn't paying attention this morning... I mean...she did just break up with Stiles-"

"What?! Stiles and Allison broke up?"

Lydia's eyes widened. "Is that not common knowledge yet?"

"Uh... NO!"

"Oh... well... yeah." she lifted herself onto the counter. "She and Isaac have been..." Lydia trailed off, but gave Kira a look that told her what she needed to know.

Kira's eyes widened. "You're kidding!" Lydia shook her head. "Wow. You know...they've been together for as long as I've known them."

"Actually, when you officially met them they were _Ross and Rachel_ -ing it." Kira gave her a confused look. Lydia rolled her eyes. "They were _on a break_."

"Really?"

"Yep. _Definitely_ not together."

"Huh...Well I guess it just seemed like they were together." Lydia made a face. _How?_ She wanted to ask, but decided not to. "So, what does 'Single Stiles' do?" Kira asked.

Lydia shrugged. "I don't even think he knows just yet."

"Well... are you okay now?"

Lydia nodded. "Yeah...yeah I think so."

When the girls walked out of the bathroom, Scott was waiting for them.

"Pack meeting tonight." He told them. "7:00. My house." Then he walked away.

Kira and Lydia exchanged looks.

* * *

Liam, Corey, Hayden, and Mason all looked pretty terrified as they sat in the middle of the room with all of the older kids scattered around them.

"Alright, guys. Look," Scott began. "We've got a new threat in town, and we're not sure what it is;, and we also have Peter back- and God knows, what kind of trouble he's going to bring our way. But right now, I feel like we're keeping a lot of things from each other, and while I can respect that some things are private," He took this chance to look pointedly at Stiles. "I feel like the pack is being made up of secrets and lies at the moment, and we're not going to be able to defeat anybody when we can't trust each other. I'd like us all to go around and get whatever we need to, off of our chests."

"Where's the spirit stick we're supposed to pass around?" Isaac asked as he rolled his eyes. Liam, Mason, and Corey laughed at the remark.

Scott sighed, not answering him. "I'll go first. First off, I'd like to apologize to everyone for probably not being the alpha that I should be. I've apparently been too wrapped up in other things to notice some...changes...and who knows what else I've missed. I also, wanted to apologize to Stiles in front of everyone. I'm a terrible brother and I never should have accused you of cheating on Allison." Stiles's eyes widened slightly and he glanced at Allison, who seemed minorly suspicious. "You're not that kind of guy. Who wants to go next?"

"I'll go." Liam said and stood up. "Sometimes I feel like you guys treat us like we're kids. We're only two years younger, and you were our age when all the craziness started, so...yeah...just..." He didn't finish his sentence, he just sat down.

"Okay..." Scott said after an awkward pause where he wasn't sure if Liam was going to continue or not. "Who's next?"

"I've been cheating on Stiles for two months." Allison announced suddenly. The only people not surprised, were Scott, Isaac, and Stiles. Lydia, who was only surprised by the length of time it had been going on, quickly turned to look at Stiles to see his reaction. Allison continued, "And he broke up with me last night. After I broke it off with..." She took a deep breath. "Issac." Allison paused to gather her thoughts. "Stiles, I wanted to apologize to you again. I should never have let it get to that point. And in answer to your question from last night...I think it was things not being the same that drove me away. I don't think I ever got over the fact that you lied to me about sleeping with Lydia." There was a coldness in Allison's eyes when she said it, and Stiles squinted his in a glare. The air in the room turned awkward. Sure, pretty much everyone knew that Stiles and Lydia had slept together, they just didn't know the extent-It was always like the elephant in the room that nobody dared to address. Stiles looked away, not wanting a fight with her. Lydia, was getting angry. "Lydia," She began again. "I _did_ wear that perfume on purpose. I spent a lot of money on it, and just because it 'makes you sick,'" She used air quotes, "Doesn't mean I'm going to stop wearing it. I like it."

"Okay!" Scott said, quickly hoping to stop them before anything started. "Wh-"

"Allison, I'm in love with you!" Isaac blurted suddenly. Allison broke eye contact with the glaring contest she was having with Lydia and Stiles and turned to Isaac in surprise.

"What?!"

"I know that you probably don't feel the same way, and you've already put an end to this, so it's not like this confession is going to make anything worse for me. Right? So... I just thought you should know." Allison gaped at him.

"Lydia kissed Stiles on the night of the full moon!" Kira said quickly, then clasped her hand over her mouth. Stiles and Lydia turned to look at her.

"Kira!" Lydia whisper-yelled at the kitsune.

Allison's head snapped up, "I fucking knew it!" she yelled. Stiles turned back to his ex-girlfriend, who was shooting daggers at him. "You bastard! You make me feel terrible, and this whole time you've been fucking _her_ behind my back!"

"It's not like that! She was sleep-walking."

"Oh, so now you're going to use that as an excuse for everything?"

"It's not an excuse! It's the truth! Look, Lydia means nothing to me! I've never once cheated on you, Ali! We'd still be together if you hadn't secretly been with this loser." He motioned to Isaac.

"Well, what if it wasn't a secret anymore?" Before Stiles could ask what she meant, she turned to Isaac and grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss.

He quickly pushed her away. "What is your problem?!" He yelled at her.

Allison's cheeks turned red, and Stiles wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment or anger. "I-" She tried, but Isaac interrupted her.

"Look, Allison. I love you, but I'm not going to be the guy you use to get back at your ex." Isaac walked toward the door, and Allison shot Stiles a glare before going after him.

"I mean nothing to you?" He heard a quiet voice say behind him as the front door closed. He turned to see Lydia visibly upset. "After _everything_ we've been through, you're saying I mean absolutely nothing to you?" She got louder.

He shook his head. "That's not-"

"You could have said 'we're just friends'. You could have said 'that's all in the past'. You could have said anything else, but you said that I mean _nothing_ to you?!" Lydia saw only anger and a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "You're still mad." She said with realization.

"Of course I'm mad, Lydia!" He yelled. "It's going to take time to get over it!"

"It's been nearly a year! I thought you _were_ over it!"

"That's not something you just get over! I _want_ to move past it! That has to count for something!"

"Well, here's my confession. I never stopped hating you!"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Bull shit." Lydia suddenly started crying, and Stiles rolled his eyes. "God, you're _so_ emotional! Are you pregnant again?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized what he'd said. Half a second later, he felt the stinging on his cheek from where Lydia had slapped his face.

"You fucking prick." She glared angrily before marching toward the front door and slamming it closed. Stiles closed his eyes, afraid to meet the stares from everyone else, and ran upstairs to his room.

Scott and Kira exchanged looks and the sophomores looked back and forth from their leader to each other.

"Um..." Mason began slowly. "Did he say _again_?"


	6. Best Friends Don't Stay Mad

Isaac was leaning on the porch railing when Allison walked out.

"I'm sorry." She mumbled.

He shook his head and shrugged. "It's fine."

"No...It's not. I haven't been the greatest friend to Lydia, or girlfriend to Stiles, or mom to Dominic, or...whatever we are to you. I'm just sucking all around."

The two of them became acutely aware of yelling happening inside the house, but tried to ignore it.

"You don't suck." Isaac told her.

Allison gave him a small smile. "Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I really do."

The front door suddenly swung open, and Lydia stormed out, slamming it behind her. She ran down the steps and about halfway down the sidewalk dropped to her knees. From where they stood, they could see her shoulders rising and falling as sobs wracked her body, and she hugged herself tightly.

"You want to prove you're not that bad of a friend?" Isaac whispered to Allison. She took a deep breath and slowly walked toward the banshee.

"Lydia?" She asked.

"Just don't, Allison." She never lifted her head, she just continued to cry.

Allison turned back to Isaac to ask him what to do. He just sort of gave her a look that said, 'Keep going!.' She sighed and turned back around.

"What happened?" Allison wanted to bend down comfort her, but she knew her perfume was still really strong.

"God, just go away!" Lydia still kept her head down. "I can't do this with you right now."The brunette felt hurt, but she knew she deserved it.

"I'm just...I want to help."

"Lydia?" It was Kira. She spoke softly as she approached the two girls. The kitsune bent down next to Lydia and rubbed her back. "It's okay." She hummed softly.

Allison took a deep breath.. "I'm gonna go." She told whoever was listening. Kira nodded and she turned back to Isaac as if to say, 'I tried.'

Isaac nodded. "Do you want some company?"

Allison gave him a small smile and nodded back.

Kira waited until they were gone before she finally asked Lydia. "Do you want to talk about it?"

She'd calmed down considerably. "Talk about what?"

"The reason you're crying.." Lydia didn't reply. "Why are you crying?"

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know. Nothing. Everything." She finally looked up and met Kira's worried eyes.

"Let's get off the ground and go sit on the porch swing." she suggested. Lydia nodded in reply and the two girls got up.

* * *

Scott and Kira were staring at each other after Lydia and Stiles ran off.

"Did he say _again_?" Mason had questioned.

"Um," Scott said as he cleared his throat. "Well...this meeting is...adjourned." He looked at the sophomores. "You guys may want to go out the back." The four of them got up, Liam mumbling something about wanting to know what happened. Scott ran a hand through his hair and turned to Kira. "I guess I'll take Stiles and you can take Lydia?"

Kira nodded. "Okay."

She headed toward the front door while Scott headed upstairs and into his brother's room.

"Stiles?" No response. "Look, I sent everybody out. It's just me."

He heard a sigh, then a muffled, "Come in." Scott took a deep breath and opened his brother's door. "If you just wanted to say 'I told you so,' you can leave now." Stiles told him quickly. He was laying on his bed, with his face buried in a pillow.

"Why would I say that?"

He finally rolled over. "Because you were right."

Scott didn't respond to his brother's statement. He was too distracted by the red welt forming on Stiles's cheek. "God, she got you good." Stiles sat up as reached up and touched his face very lightly, flinching at his own fingers.

"Yeah, well I don't blame her. I was being a dick."

Scott didn't say anything for a moment, trying to come up with the right thing to say. "Is it true?"

"That I was being dick?"

"No that...that she was..."

"Pregnant?" Scott nodded. Stiles shrugged. "I don't know."

Scott couldn't tell, but it seemed like Stiles was telling the truth. "So, that's not what happened between you two?"

Stiles shook his head. "No..."

His heartbeat didn't change, his breathing didn't quicken. "So, then why-"

"I don't know, Scott!" He snapped.

Scott sighed. "Just so you know, based on your vitals, you're telling the truth."

Stiles made a face and shrugged ."Good, because I am. Why would I lie?"

"I don't know." Scott told him. "I just know that you are."

Stiles sighed and rolled his eyes. "You just said that I passed your werewolf lie-detector, so why would you think I was still lying?"

"Because I know you. And I know you and Lydia did a project in 8th grade where you learned how to pass a lie-detector. I've heard where you've used it on Derek and Peter, but I never thought you'd use it on me." Scott stared his brother in the eye. Stiles stared right back. He didn't even try to deny it, but he also didn't seem sorry about it either. "So you're not going to tell me I'm wrong?"

"What's the point?" Stiles asked. "You wouldn't believe me anyway."

Scott sighed and changed the subject. "Are you going to talk to Lydia?"

Stiles shook his head. "She doesn't want to talk to me."

"How do you know that?"

"Because _I_ know _her_. When she slaps you, you give her her space." Stiles laid back and rolled over onto his side. "Now... Can you give _me_ space and get out of my room?"

* * *

Kira and Lydia sat in silence. Neither girl had said anything since they had walked over to the porch swing. Lydia had stopped crying and both of them were just sitting there thinking.

Kira, was thinking about what the best thing to say was. She'd started several conversations in her head, but decided against all of them.

The front door opened again and both girls looked up to see Scott step out.

"Just so you know, you slapped the shit out of him." He chuckled. Lydia barely cracked a smile.

"He deserved it." She mumbled.

"Yeah...that's what he said." Scott told her as he leaned his back against the railing and folded his arms across his chest. "That's really all he said, come to think of it." Lydia lowered her head. "He told me he made up the pregnancy thing, and said it had nothing to do with what happened to you two. Everything my werewolf senses taught me says I should believe him, but everything being human taught me says something's off. Like if it didn't really mean anything why did you slap him?"

"Because it was rude!" Lydia snapped. "How would you like it if I accused your girlfriend of being pregnant every time she got the least bit hormonal? It's just PMS."

"Why did he say _again_?"

"Because he's a jerk! So what?" Lydia crossed her arms. "I had a scare _once._ With _Aaron_ and I told Stiles about it. The end."

"Why are you lying to me?"

"I'm not lying!" Lydia yelled as her tears began to make their way back. "Why are you interrogating me?"

"Scott-" Kira tried.

"What happened to the baby?"

"There was _never_ a _baby_!" She screamed, and the tears finally broke through.

"Then why are you so upset?"

"Because you're not listening to me."

"Why won't you just tell me the truth?"

"Scott!" Stiles yelled. No one had heard the front door open again, but Stiles had definitely heard the yelling. He was between Scott and Lydia before they could blink. "Leave her alone!"

"God what is it with you two?! You say things that make you upset, then pretend they don't. Then you're yelling at each other one minute and hugging the next. You're driving me crazy! Why won't you just tell me what happened, so I can understand."

"Because it's none of your business." Stiles told him. Lydia suddenly clasped her hand over her mouth and ran back inside.

Scott and Stiles both moved to head toward the front door, but Kira held her boyfriend back.

"Scott," she said softly. "Leave them alone."

"I just," He began harshly, but took a deep breath to calm himself. "I just don't understand why neither of them will tell me what happened. It's been a year of this, isn't that enough time?"

"Evidently not." Kira told him. "Look... let's say you're right and they're both lying. Lydia was _pregnant_. Whether it was Stiles's baby or not, she confided in him with that information and no one else- At least not any of us. She's not pregnant now and she doesn't have a kid, so what happened? It was obviously something bad, so make up whatever you want to in your head, but maybe a year isn't enough time to get over whatever it was." Kira sighed. "Or, you know...maybe you're crazy and they really are telling the truth about this, and now it's your turn to be a dick."

* * *

Lydia was huddled over the toilet when she felt someone pull her hair back and gently rub her back. She knew it was Stiles. She was still mad at him, but she was also grateful.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. She reached up to flush the toilet and leaned back against him, then he leaned back against the wall. Soon, they were both asleep.

Lydia woke up first. As uncomfortable as the cold tile floor was, she felt extremely comfortable wrapped in Stiles's arms.

She moved to get up, but immediately felt sick again and quickly leaned over the toilet. She was amazed she still had something left to throw up. He stirred behind her and she felt him pulling her hair back once more.

"Are you okay?" He asked her when she was done.

She nodded and slowly stood up. "I should leave."

"Are you sure you're up for it? I me-"

"I need to leave." Lydia said more sternly. She sighed. "I can't keep doing this, Stiles."

"Doing what?"

"Yelling at each other one minute, and then acting like everything's okay the next."

"People fight, Lyd...that's just life."

Lydia closed her eyes. "But we're fighting like we did after I told you. We're fighting like it's last year all over again." She took a deep breath. "I don't want you to be mad at me anymore, but if you are...I don't want you to pretend like everything is okay and then just throw it in my face every time we have an argument. Just...be committed one way or another. Either be mad or be my friend."

"Friends can be mad at each other, Lydia." He laughed humorlessly.

"You're right." She smiled sadly. "But friends don't _stay_ mad at each other. That's the difference. When you're ready to be my friend again...you know where to find me."

She walked out of the bathroom, then kept walking toward the front door and all the way out to her car-never turning back.


	7. Sleeping Beauty and a Time Lord

Lydia had another restless night of sleep. It was really starting to become extremely frustrating not being able to sleep through the night without the fear that she would end up dead on the side of the road.

She reached for her phone. She purposefully turned it on silent and hadn't looked at it for quite some time in hopes that she'd be able to sleep better. (It hadn't helped.)

"What the hell?" She muttered as she realized she'd had 12 missed calls, 7 unheard voice messages, and 15 unread text messages. She clicked on the missed calls. The first two were from Allison's father, Chris. There were four from Stiles, three from Scott, one from her mother, and two from Kira.

She quickly went to her voicemails and began to listen.

"Hey, Lydia. It's Chris Argent, Allison's father." Lydia knew who he was. "I was just wondering if you've heard from Allison? Please let me know if you have." Next message. "Lydia, it's Stiles. Look I know you don't like me too much right now, but can you please answer your phone? It's important." Next message. "Hey, Lydia. It's Scott. Stiles thought that maybe you were ignoring him, so he had me call. Can you please call someone so we know you're okay?" Next message. Stiles again. "Lydia! Jesus Christ! Would you please call me back! For the love of God! I'm freaking out." Next message. "Lydia, it's Mom. I just checked on you so I know you're okay, but please call your friends." Next. Stiles. "Hey," He sounded a lot calmer. "So, your mom just called and said you were asleep so that explains why you weren't answering your phone. But please...Lyd, please call me back. I need you. _We_ need you." Last message. "It's Kira...The boys just thought I would have better luck at reaching you, but it turns out I don't...so... just...when you get a chance...call one of us back."

Lydia didn't even look at her texts, knowing they would just be more of what she heard in the voicemails. She was still upset with Stiles, and even though Scott wasn't at the top of of the list of people she liked the most right now, he was still her leader.

"Hello?" Scott answered.

"Hey, what's going on? I woke up with a ton of voicemails and text messages."

"Is that Lydia?" She heard Stiles ask in the background. Scott didn't answer his brother verbally, but she assumed he nodded.

"Did you hear from Allison at all?"

Lydia's heart began to beat slightly faster. "No. Why? What happened?"

Scott took a deep breath. "She's missing."

"What?!"

"Chris went to her room today and he found her phone and a note that said not to look for her." He sighed and lowered his voice. "She took Dominic with her."

Lydia's first thought was of Stiles. "How's Stiles?"

"He's...I don't think he's processing it well. He thinks it's his fault that she left."

"Why would she leave?" Lydia wondered out loud. "We only have two months left of school. She could have just waited."

"Which is why we're thinking that maybe she didn't have a choice."

"Do you think she was taken?"

"I don't know. Either that or maybe she felt threatened. We're keeping all of our options opened."

"What about Isaac?"

"He's still here. Doesn't know anything. We were hoping you did. Even if it was a supernatural feeling..."

Lydia shook her head before remembering she was on the phone. "No. I wish I did."

"Well...if you hear anything. Let us know. We'll do the same."

"Yeah, okay. Bye." She hung up with Scott quickly, before running to the bathroom. She barely made it to the toilet before emptying the contents of her stomach. God, what had she eaten that didn't agree with her? Or maybe it was all this craziness with Peter being their substitute and fighting (but not fighting) with Stiles giving her an nervous stomach. Maybe she'd caught another virus. Maybe what Stiles said...Lydia chuckled to herself. No. That wasn't possible.

* * *

Lydia had heard nothing new from anybody for the rest of the day, and then there was another restless night. She got up on Sunday and immediately checked her phone. Still nothing new. She briefly wondered if Allison's disappearance had anything to do with their teacher's death. Were the two connected at all?

She felt tired for most of the day and just sort of lazed around the house. It was nearing 10:00 pm when she heard a car pull into the driveway. She looked out the window, but didn't recognize the vehicle. Although, she did recognize the boy that stumbled out of the backseat.

Lydia sighed and went downstairs to get to the door before he knocked or rang the doorbell. She swung the front door open and Stiles was leaned against the door frame.

"Lydia?" He asked with a confused look.

She crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you doing here, Stiles?"

He looked around, clearly trying to figure out where 'here' was. Then he sighed. "Oh God..."He groaned and let his head fall against the door frame with a _thump_. "I'm sorry, I'll go." He turned around and swayed on his feet before grabbing onto the porch railing. "Whoa." He said and chuckled slightly.

Lydia sighed. "Come inside."

He turned to face her. "Are you sure?" His words slurred. Lydia nodded and pushed the door open wider so he could come inside. "Thanks." He mumbled with a smile. "I was hanging out with some of the guys. I may have had a few drinks." He began to tell her.

"And you told them you couldn't go home," She began as she closed the door behind him. "And they brought you here, because the last time you 'hung out with the guys'" She used air quotes. "We were seeing each other." She crossed her arms again.

He smiled "Yeah!" Then his smiled faded. "Well, no." Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean 'no'?"

"I've hung out with them since we started fighting." He shrugged. "They just always take me here, and I normally called Scott or Ali to pick me up."

She saw the look of sadness in his eyes. "Why didn't you just tell them to stop bringing you here?" She asked as she dropped her arms once more.

"Because then I'd have to tell them we were fighting and that wasn't something I was willing to accept." Lydia bit her lip, and Stiles seemed to subconsciously thread their fingers together. "I miss you." He said quietly. "I'm trying not to be mad. I don't want to be mad. I'm _not_ mad like 95% of the time." He sighed. "The past two days have been terrible. I mean..Allison's gone. She took Nic." His voice broke as he continued, "But when you didn't answer your phone, I thought you'd gone with her. And I was more worried about losing you than her."

"Stiles-"

"No, let me...let me say this. I probably won't remember telling you this in the morning, but it doesn't change what I feel."

"What you feel?" She asked, heart hammering in her chest. What was he doing?

"Lydia..."He seemed like he was going to say something, but instead, he tilted his head forward and kissed her lips. She was shocked at first, but then her brain starting registering what was happening. She put her hand on his chest and gave him a small push.

"I can't." she whispered to him, as he rested his forehead on hers.

"I'm sorry. That was stupid. That was so stupid, I'm so sorry." He rambled.

"No, it's okay." She told him. "You're upset."

He sighed. "That doesn't mean I haven't been wanting to do that for a long time."

There was a knock on the front door and they both looked at each other in confusion before Lydia opened it.

"Surprise!"

"Aiden?!" Lydia said in shock. Aiden walked in and scooped Lydia up in his arms and kissed her. "Wh-what are you doing here?" She asked as he released her.

"Spring break!" He finally noticed Stiles. "Oh, hey Stiles. What's up?"

Stiles saluted. "I'm just gonna go." He said and turned toward the door, tripping over his feet. He would have fallen on his face had Aiden not been there to grab him.

"No," Lydia told him. "I'll grab some blankets. You can sleep on the couch. You know if you go home like that, your dad's going to kill you."

He sighed. "Okay."

Lydia walked away and Aiden smiled. "So, did I miss anything?"

"Let's see...Allison and I broke up because I found out she's been cheating on me for two months, now she's missing. Lydia and I are talking to each other... or not, we're not sure. Our biology teacher died in the middle of class and now Peter's our substitute. And Lydia's been sleepwalking. So...nope. Didn't miss a thing."

* * *

Lydia felt comfortable enough to fall asleep that night. When she woke up with arms wrapped around her, holding her close, she assumed it was Aiden until she realized she was in the living room -laying on the couch- and those arms belonged to Stiles. After her minor freak out over where she was, she quickly looked at the time, fearing that she had over-slept.

Fortunately, she still had about 45 minutes before she would normally wake up. She carefully pulled herself away from Stiles and went to start a pot of coffee knowing he would definitely need it.

Stiles awoke later, vaguely remembering something about kissing Lydia the night before. He swore he must have been dreaming, until he opened his eyes and realized he was on Lydia's couch. And God! Could the sun _be_ any brighter?! He quickly shielded his eyes then sensed it get darker. He opened his eyes again and saw Lydia standing in front of him as she blocked the sun with her body. "Morning." she said softly and placed a mug onto the coffee table. "I made you some coffee." He slowly sat up and eagerly drank the hot liquid, not even bothering to flavor it in anyway.

"Um.." He said slowly after taking a long sip. "Did I...Did I kiss you last night?" He asked her.

Lydia opened her mouth to reply, but she was interrupted by Aiden's booming voice. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty. Rise and shine!" Stiles cringed, knowing he was doing it on purpose.

"What time is it?" Stiles asked.

"Almost time to leave for school." Lydia told him. "Oh by the way, Scott texted earlier. I told him you were crashing here."

"Did you tell him I was highly intoxicated?"

"Not in so many words, but I think he'll figure it out."

Lydia walked over and kissed Aiden as Stiles tried to finish the rest of his coffee. She tried not to think about how she ended up on the couch this morning when she knew fully well that she fell asleep on her bed with Aiden.

"What am I going to do all day?" Aiden asked her, and Lydia shrugged.

"I think you'll figure something out." She smiled, then turned to Stiles. "Come on, Stiles. It's my turn to drive you to school." He followed Lydia out to her car as the sun nearly blinded him the whole way there. "Here." Lydia said, as she opened the glove box once they were inside. She pulled out a pair of sunglasses and a bottle of Tylenol.

"You're a lifesaver." He mumbled as he put the sunglasses on and downed several pills before Lydia could hand him the bottle of water she had in her backseat.

"Jesus!" She exclaimed as she stupidly held the bottle out to him.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." He told her. She shook her head and started the car. They got to the end of the street before Lydia licked her lips and sighed.

"Yes." She said then looked over to him quickly. She could barely see his wrinkled forehead from behind the large, rhinestone-covered frames of her sunglasses he was wearing.

"Am I so hungover that I don't remember asking a question?"

She chuckled lightly. "You asked before Aiden walked in. You asked me if you kissed me, the answer is yes."

He groaned. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." She told him. "You apologized last night too."

"Maybe I was just getting you back for kissing me while you were sleepwalking the other day." He joked. They both smiled, but neither reached their eyes.

"Speaking of sleepwalking..."Lydia began. "Do you remember me coming into the living room last night at all?"

Stiles shook his head. "I barely remember the kiss to be honest. Why?"

"It's just..." She took a deep breath. "I woke up on the couch with you this morning."

"Oh..."

'Yeah...I mean...obviously nothing happened, but I was just curious if you knew why. I mean...anytime I actually go to sleep I end up next to you." She laughed, but then realize how true that statement was. "Oh my God...I always end up with you. That's...that's weird right?"

Stiles shrugged. He didn't know what to say. "Maybe it's just coincidence?"

"Maybe." Lydia sighed. The rest of the car ride was quiet.

When they got to the school, they walked in together, but separated once they were inside. Lydia was standing at her locker when Scott walked up to her.

"Hey, so...is everything okay with you and Stiles?"

Lydia shrugged. "I guess." She bit her lip as she thought about their conversation the night before... and the kiss... and how she ended up next to him this morning...

"Did..." Scott began as he raised an eyebrow. "Did something happen between you two?"

"No!" She said quickly. "Nothing happened. Aiden came over last night."

Scott's eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment, before grabbing Lydia's wrist. "Come here." He told her before dragging her away. She barely had time to close her locker. He led her into an empty classroom.

"What are you doing?!" Lydia yelped once he closed the door.

"Sh!" She quieted her. He stared for a moment.

"Okay, you're starting to freak me out."

Scott sighed. "Okay...um...I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to tell you. I'm..." He took a deep breath. "I'm hearing two heartbeats coming from you."

Lydia laughed. "Well, maybe I'm a time lord."

"No." Scott said, clearly not finding the humor. Lydia's smile faded. "One's normal...one is a lot faster...I've heard something like it before...when my mom was pregnant."

Lydia smiled, because if she didn't she would probably cry. "Are you trying to say I'm pregnant?" Scott didn't reply. "Because that sounds like a sick joke." She took a deep breath as she fought back tears. "I'll have you know that there is _no_ way, that could be true, because in case you don't remember from health class, you have to have sex in order to get pregnant and _believe me_ it's been awhile."

"I'm sorry...but...there's definitely another heartbeat."

She shook her head. "I don't believe you." She pushed past him and stopped at the door when she heard his voice.

"I won't tell anyone, but if I can hear it...any wolf can."

Any wolf like Aiden. Lydia opened the door and ran out of the room, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach.

Stiles saw her run past him, then looked back to see Scott coming out from where Lydia just was. He sighed before following her. She went into the bathroom and Stiles took a deep breath before cracking the door. "Boy coming in." There were no other girls in there, for which he was very relieved. He found Lydia huddled over the toilet, apparently not having enough time to lock the door behind her.

"Are you okay?" He asked her.

"Just peachy." She told him. "Hanging out with my new best friend, Mr. Porcelain. We've been seeing a lot of each other lately."

"I'm sure it's just nerves." He said calmly as he sat down next to her.

"That's what I thought too...until Scott..."

"What did he do?"

"Nothing." She told him. "He just told me that he thinks...that he..." She took a deep breath. "He said he heard a second heartbeat." She sniffled. "From me." She clarified. "Which is crazy because the last person I had sex with was you...and that was like...two years ago."

Stiles was trying to process too many things at once, and the thought that made it out was,"You mean...you and Aiden...'

She shook her head. "No. It just never felt right."

Stiles nodded, but then seemed to realize what she was telling him. "Wait, so Scott thinks that you're-"

"Pregnant." She nodded. "Yeah, but Stiles... if I am...I don't know how." She sobbed.

"Hey," He whispered, and grabbed her hand in his. "It's okay."

She shook her head. "No, it's not. You need to know something. I-" The bell rang suddenly and Kira walked into the bathroom.

"Oh! There you guys are! Class is starting. Time to go!"


	8. Mr. Sarcastic and a Telepathic Banshee

Lydia's knee bounced up and down. She was having a hard time focusing on the test in front of her. They were finally taking the make up tests from the day that Mrs. Finch died, but at this point, she probably would have done better on _that_ day. She nibbled on her thumbnail, as she read the same question for the 5th time. No matter how many times she read it, it just wasn't making sense. Probably because she was too busy freaking out over the fact that Scott was convinced she pregnant! That was crazy...there was no way...but then again she had been sleep walking...was it possible she was having sex in her sleep too? But if that was the case, then who would she have been with? And wouldn't she have realized that something had happened? Even if she didn't remember details, she would have _known_...right?

"Miss Martin?" Peter called from his desk. "Can I see you for a moment?" He asked. As much as she wanted to tell him where to shove it, she knew she couldn't do that. She nodded slowly and flipped her test over on her desk and walked up to him.

"Yes?" She asked as she chewed on her lip.

He leaned forward and whispered. "What the hell is going on with you? I can smell the anxiety on you a mile away. It's stinking up the whole room."

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "It's just been a really weird few days."

"You're telling me." He said with a quirked eyebrow. " _You_ just apologized to _me_." She took a deep breath and leaned against his desk. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head. "Can I be excused?"

"Go." He told her quickly and she ran out of the room.

* * *

When Stiles walked into the room for his class later, he saw Lydia's backpack sitting at her desk. He turned to Peter who motioned him up to the front.

"Where's Lydia?" Stiles demanded to know.

"She asked to be excused."

Stiles forehead wrinkled in confusion. "She... _asked_."

"I know. Freaked me out too. What's going on?"

Stiles sighed. "Allison is missing. I suppose you wouldn't know anything about that?"

He shook his head. "I had no idea...Was she taken?"

Stiles shrugged. "We're not sure. It kind of looks like she ran away. Took Dominic with her."

"How are you holding up?" He asked.

Stiles was caught off guard. "Um..I'm...I'm okay...thanks?"

"I'm trying to be more involved in my students' lives. What do you think?"

"Well... it's weird." He said with fake enthusiasm.

Peter nodded. "Noted." Lydia walked back into the room, and Peter called her over. "Miss Martin? Did you want to try to take that exam again with this class?"

Lydia's bottom lip began to quiver and Stiles shot Peter a look. Peter was turning white. "I just..." Lydia started, choking on a sob. "I just have a lot going on right now. My best friend is missing, I'm forgetting things and sleepwalking. I mean..I can't sleep because I'm afraid that I'll walk into traffic! Do you know what that's like to not be able to sleep because you're afraid you're going to die?!"

"Uhh..." Peter started, then looked to Stiles. "No... I uh... I can't say that I do."

"I'm just so tired, and I can't stop crying. And did I mention my best friend is missing?"

"You did." Peter nodded, wishing to God that he'd never started this conversation to begin with.

"Because she is! She's gone and she hasn't spoken to anybody and I don't know if she's okay, and then Scott thinks I'm pregnant! Which is insane because I haven't had sex in two years!" Stiles eyes widened and he looked around the room. Luckily there were only a few people in the class. "And you know who that was with? Him!" she pointed at Stiles.

"Whoa!" he said as he looked down at her finger. "Keep me out of this." He turned back to the few people in the class who were all giggling. "Um, just to be clear. I had sex last week...so..."

"So," She continued. " _Mr. Pasternak_. Do you _think_ I'm okay enough to take a test right now?!"

Peter gulped and cleared his throat. "Mr. Stilinski, can you make sure Miss Martin gets home alright?"

"What about _my_ test?"

"The two of you can make it up later." Then he lowered his voice. "Just get her home."

Lydia grabbed her bag, and snapped at the kid next to her. "What are you looking at, Greenberg?" She picked up her test off of her desk then slammed it onto Peter's. Stiles followed Lydia out of the room and Peter sighed.

"That's what I get for trying to be more involved."

* * *

Lydia stomped out to the parking lot, finally whipping her head around. "Why the hell are you following me?!"

Stiles stopped. "Because Peter told me to."

She scoffed. "Since when do you listen to Peter?"

"Since he's literally been given the power to keep us from graduating." She rolled her eyes and Stiles sighed. "And, I mean...I didn't think you'd want to be alone."

She shook her head. "I won't be alone, Aiden's at my house..." A look of realization passed on her face. "Oh my God, Aiden's at my house. I can't go home! What if he hears...what _ever_ it is that Scott heard?" Stiles shrugged, not sure what she wanted him to say. "Can we go to your house?"

"Yeah, I guess."

She pulled her keys out and held them out. "Can you please drive?"

"Sure." He nodded and she tossed them to him.

"I just," She began to explain. "I can't think right now."

"No, I get it." He told her. They got into the car and she sat with her chin resting against her fist, her elbow propped up on the door, as she stared out the window.

She was quiet for several minutes before finally breaking her silence. "Do you think we could stop at the store?"

"Why? Do you need like groceries or something?" Lydia turned to him with a glare, but realized he was being completely serious. She wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse.

" _No._ I want to prove to Scott that he's wrong."

"Oh...so you're going to get-"

"Pregnancy tests. Yes, Stiles."

"Tests?" He asked with a confused look. "With an _S_? As in plural?"

"Yes, one doesn't mean anything. I mean.. false positives are a thing, so I need multiple tests. Just to make sure." She realized how frantic she sounded, so she took a deep breath. "I mean...they're all going to be negative anyway."

"I'll wait here." He told her when they got to drug store. She came back several minutes later with a bag. "How many did you get?" He asked.

"Four." He nodded. "Shut up." She snapped.

He whipped his head around "I didn't say anything!"

"I hear your judgmental thoughts."

"Oh, telepathy...is that a new banshee power?"

"Look, Mr. Sarcastic. This is my car, I could kick you out right now."

"Oh yeah? Well have fun going back to your house and explaining to Aiden what's in the bag." Lydia didn't reply. "That's what I thought."

* * *

When they got to Stiles's house, she followed him upstairs to his room.

"You can use my bathroom." He told her.

"Thanks." She said, and disappeared into the bathroom. Stiles took a deep breath and collapsed on his bed. The medication he'd taken earlier was beginning to wear off and his headache was coming back, so he closed his eyes. He wasn't sure if he'd actually fallen asleep, but he opened his eyes again when he heard the bathroom door open.

He lifted his head to look at Lydia. "So?"

She shrugged. "I don't know yet. I have to wait." She sighed and walked over to the bed. He laid his head back against the pillow and Lydia laid down too, resting her head on his chest and curling up against him. He stiffened for a moment in shock, before he put his arm around her.

She sighed. "The sound of your heart beating is actually really comforting."

"Well thank you. My heart appreciates that. It tries every day to beat all that it can beat." She playfully swatted at his chest then they heard Lydia's phone going off.

"That's the timer." She told him, but didn't make a move to get up.

"Are you going to check it? I mean...they're going to be negative...right?"

"Logic says yes. But we live in an illogical world. Oh God...what if while I was sleeping somebody artificially inseminated me just like on _Jane the Virgin?_ "

"How about you look at the results first? Take one thing at a time."

She nodded and sat up. "Will you come in there with me?"

"Yeah." He sighed and got up too. As they walked into the bathroom, she reached for his hand to give her the support she needed. He squeezed it softly.

All four tests were positive.

Lydia sucked in a sharp breath as she stared at the tests, and slowly let go of Stiles's hand.

"Lydia?" Stiles asked after several moments of her just staring at the plastic sticks on the counter.

She began to shake her head. "This isn't real."

"Lydia..."

She continued shaking her head. "There's no way...it's...it's not possible." She covered her mouth as she let out a strangled sob. He reached his hand out to touch her shoulder, but at the contact, she immediately turned around and buried her face into Stiles's chest. He was taken slightly by surprise, and it took a few moments to register, but when he did, he wrapped his arms around her.

"How is this happening?" She whispered.

"I don't know." He told her honestly, as he stared at the tests behind her. He tried to identify the emotions he was feeling, but there were too many of them to put his finger on one.

Several minutes passed before she let go of him. She wiped her eyes before walking back into his room and sitting down on the bed. Stiles leaned against the door frame and watched her.

"Are you sure you don't have the _slightest_ clue who the father could be?"

"No! Like I said...the last person I _remember_ sleeping with was you and that was a long time ago." Stiles nodded slowly, wanting to make several comments, but keeping them to himself. Lydia took a few deep breaths. "This is a nightmare. I'm going to wake up in my bed and will none of this will be real." She turned back to Stiles, panic in her eyes, "God, Stiles. I'm freaking out!"

He quickly walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. Things happen for a reason, right?"

She nodded slightly, then groaned. "Oh God...What about Aiden? If I tell him, he'll know it isn't his." Stiles shrugged. "Maybe, I just won't tell him."

Stiles did a double take. "Are you serious? Lydia, have you learned nothing?"

"There's no way it's his, so what's the point in telling him?"

Stiles had to stop himself from laughing. "Oh, so if it _was_ his, you would tell him? That's progress I guess."

She sighed. "That's not what-"

"No, I get it."

"No you don't." She whispered. Stiles didn't reply. He just looked down. She took a deep breath after a few moments of silence between the two of them. "I should probably make a list of things to do. One being actually scheduling a doctor's appointment. Then there's figuring out how to tell people or _what_ to tell people. Then...I guess I'll go from there." She sighed again. "Can you not tell anyone anything?"

"What is it with you and secrets?"

"Stiles-"

"I won't tell anyone... but I think you should."

"Let me figure it out first."

"You mean, let you take care of it first, and then tell everybody in a year?"

"Stiles!"

"I'm sorry!" He yelled. "I'm not mad." He said as if he was trying to convince himself.

She took a deep breath. "I-" Suddenly Stiles's phone began to ring. He pulled it out and looked at Lydia.

"It's Scott. What should I say?"

"Just tell him you took me home." She said. Stiles nodded and stood.

"I'm going to answer it in the hall." He told her. She nodded and he walked out of the room. "Hey." He spoke into the phone.

"Hey, where are you?"

"I took Lydia home. She wasn't in any condition to drive." He decided to pretend he didn't know what happened. If she didn't want him to tell anybody, then he may as well commit and pretend he just didn't know anything. "She was really upset about something."

Scott sighed. "Yeah, that may have been partly my fault."

"What did you do?"

"Uh…" Scott stammered. "Nothing. I just… I said something…that she needed to know, but didn't want to hear."

"Huh…something about me?"

"No…at least… I don't think so." Stiles nodded, even though he knew Scott couldn't see him. "So," He began, changing the subject. "Are you coming back to school today?"

"Probably not." He answered nonchalantly, but then decided to elaborate. "I drove her in her car. My Jeep is…somewhere else. I'm going to have to get it later."

"Okay. I'll make sure to get your homework."

"Thanks."

"Bye."

Stiles hung up the phone, proud that Scott didn't go blabbing Lydia's secret the first chance he got. He walked back into the room and was about to say something when he saw that Lydia's eyes were closed.

"Are you asleep?" He whispered. No response. "I'll take that as a yes." He mumbled, then walked into the bathroom. He was met with the four positive pregnancy tests. Several thoughts ran through his brain, and he began to feel all of those emotions again.

Finally, he was able to distinguish the strongest one. He felt scared. And it wasn't that he felt scared for _Lydia._ He felt scared for _himself_. A feeling of anxiousness in the pit of his stomach. It was how he should feel if this was his baby too. _But it's not,_ he told himself. _There's absolutely no way._

So, then why did he feel like this? Why did he feel like this was his responsibility? Several answers popped into his head, but he couldn't reason with any of them.


	9. Breaking Up and Making Up

Lydia was back in the passenger's seat of her own car. She looked over at Stiles for the umpteenth time since they got in. Stiles opened and closed his mouth (again for the umpteenth time) and she finally snapped.

"What?!"

He did a double take to her and, in genuine confusion asked, "What?"

"You haven't said a word since I woke up. You've just been communicating in grunts and groans and hums. And then there's the whole 'acting-like-you-want-to-say-something-but-then-deciding-against-it thing, so just _say it_! It can't be any worse than things you've already said to me."

"I just... I was thinking about stuff...I just don't know how you'll respond to what I'm going to say...that's why I kept stopping myself."

"Well, just tell me. Like I said, whatever you have to say I've probably heard worse...also from you."

He let out a small laugh at the truthfulness of that statement., then took a deep breath. "I wanted to say that...you've got me...as a friend...if you want... Through this whole thing...I'll go to your first appointment..if you don't want to see this through, I'll drive you to a clinic. If you want to give it up for adoption, I'll help you find the perfect family, I'll go to Lamaze class, and to the store at 3 am if you just really want waffles. I'll be there in the delivery room. If you want to keep it, I'll help there too. I'll look at schools with you...I'll be the one it goes to when you get too overbearing. I mean... I've got a lot of experience with kids... there's Nic, and my siblings. I just... I want you to know that no matter what happens you've got me. I...I won't go anywhere. Not again. You're...You're my best friend, Lyd, and I-"

She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, stopping him mid-sentence. He felt a blush creeping into his cheeks. She seemed to realize what she'd done almost as soon as she did it. "I'm so sorry." She began apologizing, her face turning red out of embarrassment.

He laughed. "It's fine...I guess it's just pay back for the kiss I gave you when I was drunk that I barely remember."

"Yeah..that's it." She smiled.

Stiles stopped the car and looked at the blue jeep in front of him. "So, here's my stop. I guess you're going back home now."

"Yeah…and seeing Aiden." She sighed.

"Are you going to tell him, or just let him figure it out?"

Lydia shrugged. "I haven't decided yet." Stiles nodded slowly. Lydia took a deep breath. "You wanting to help out…that doesn't have anything to do with…"

Stiles waited for her to finish her sentence. "With…?"

"With not being there last time?"

Stiles inhaled sharply, then exhaled slowly. "I don't know. I don't think so. It just… it feels like the right thing to do. I can't explain it."

Lydia nodded. "I get it."

"You do?" He asked, a hint of shock in his voice.

"Yeah…I do." She bit her lip.

Silence settled over the car for several moments before Stiles finally cleared his throat. "I guess I'll get going. Text me if you need anything."

He opened the door and got out of the car, and Lydia did the same. She walked around her car to get to the driver's side as Stiles walked to his. She put her hand on the handle then stopped.

"Stiles?"

He turned around to look at her. "Yeah?"

She sighed. "Thank you...for everything."

* * *

"Hey! Welcome home! How was school?" Aiden asked as soon as Lydia walked inside.

"Wow...how bored were you?" she asked, chuckling at his eagerness.

"Incredibly. I thought you only had one class. I was expecting you home hours ago."

"Oh yeah...I...I waited for Stiles so we could get his jeep."

"Yeah, what's up with him?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, the last time I was here, you guys couldn't be in the same room as each other and this time, he's at your house drunk. And he mentioned something about you sleepwalking."

"He did?"

"Yeah, so what's going on? Why did he know this and not me?"

Lydia sighed. "Because he's the one who keeps waking me up." Aiden cocked his head as he waited for Lydia to continue. "The night of Allison's party-"

"Her mother's Death Day Party?"

"That one...Allison sent Stiles to pick me up. Neither one of us were too happy about it, but on the way to Allison's house, I led Stiles to the nemeton, and things have been really weird since then."

"What happened at the nemeton?"

"Nothing...at least...I don't think anything happened... but then later that night, Scott took me home and I went to sleep. When I woke up, I was standing in Allison's kitchen, holding a piece of glass and Stiles had my wrist in his hand." Lydia took a deep breath. "That was when things got a little better between us. But I..." Lydia pulled out her phone to search for the picture Allison sent her. "I carved something into Allison's counter." She finally found it and showed it to Aiden. "It's a Japanese kanji that means memory. We talked to Noshiko about it, but ever since then..." She shook her head as she took her phone back. "I keep forgetting things and every time I actually fall asleep I wake up with Stiles _right there._ "

Aiden huffed. "Why _Stiles_?"

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know. I wish I could tell you. It's not a conscious decision."

Aiden began to walk off, but Lydia followed him "So, this morning...when I woke up and you weren't there," He stopped and turned around. "Were you with Stiles?"

Lydia stopped dead in her tracks, "W-what?"

"You just told me every time you fall asleep you end up with him. So, what you're saying is when you woke up this morning you were with him which is why you weren't with me. Right?" Lydia opened and closed her mouth, before Aiden scoffed and continued up the stairs to Lydia's room. "So, when I asked you this morning where you were and you told me you'd woken up early, you lied."

"I didn't lie!"She said quickly as she ran up the stairs after him, feeling tears prickle behind her eyes. "I did wake up early."

"Just not with me?" Lydia didn't say anything and Aiden stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to look at her and she still stayed quiet. "Answer me!" He yelled, making her jump. "Did you wake up next to me or next to _him_."

Her bottom lip quivered, as she whispered, "Him."

Aiden nodded slowly, then grabbed her face and kissed her roughly. Tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks, but she didn't kiss him back.

"Does that still make you feel something?" He asked as he pulled away. "Did it _ever_ make you feel _any_ thing?" Lydia sniffed and sobbed, but didn't answer him. His voice broke as he finally asked, "Did you ever love me the way you love him?"

Lydia bit her lip, staring into Aiden's glassy eyes, as she blinked the tears out of hers. Slowly she shook her 'no.' He let out a breath and nodded slowly. He walked into her room and she collapsed against the wall, sobbing. He came back out with his suitcase and Lydia didn't move or say anything. She heard him go down the stairs and then the front door opened and closed. And just like that he was gone.

* * *

Stiles was laying on his bed when he heard a knock at his door.

"Come in."

The door opened and Scott poked his head in. "Is it cool if I come in?"

Stiles raised an eyebrow and sat up. "I just said _come in_. So…yeah...remember? _I_ lock the door."

"Oh right." Scott said as he took a step inside his brother's room. "So, how's Lydia?"

Stiles shrugged. "She's okay."

"Is she…feeling better?"

Stiles gave his brother a small smile. "I know what you said to her in the classroom."

Scott let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Oh thank God! That's like a huge secret that I didn't think I could keep from you."

The comment made Stiles feel a little guilty, but it passed quickly. "Yeah…"

"So…you were right."

"When?" He asked confused.

"When you asked if she was pregnant…I mean…except you said _again_."

"Scott-"

"Why won't you just say it and get it off your chest. Otherwise I'm just taking what bits and pieces you've said and coming up with theories that are probably worse than what actually happened."

"God, Scott!" Stiles yelled in frustration as he stood up. "Why is it that you and I can't have a normal conversation lately without you needing to know every little detail of my life?" He marched past his brother and nearly ran into the Sheriff.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He dad asked.

"It's Scott. He won't stop pestering me about what happened between me and Lydia."

"Speaking of Lydia…" Stiles cocked his head and his father motioned with his to the stairs.

Lydia was standing in the middle of his living room with her arms wrapped around her waist.

"Lyd?" He questioned. She looked up and he could tell she had been crying. "What happened?"

Lydia sniffled. "Aiden left."

"Was it because he heard-"

She shook her head. "And I didn't tell him either. He just…" She didn't know what to say, so she decided on a half-truth. "He didn't like us spending so much time together. And he didn't like that I didn't tell him about sleepwalking before."

Stiles groaned. "Did I tell him about it last night?"

"It's fine."

"No, it's not. This is just like when you told Allison about us. I got pissed at you then, so let me fix it-"

"No!" Lydia said quickly. "It's fine. Really...I mean… It won't mean much once he finds out so…it's better this way."

Stiles nodded, then wrapped her in a hug. "I'm sorry. I know it still sucks."

She buried her face into his chest and put her arms around him.

"Stiles I-" Scott stopped, and Lydia and Stiles both looked up at him. "Oh, hey Lydia."

Lydia felt Stiles tense up. "Hey Scott." She looked up at Stiles. "Stiles, can we go for a walk?"

He looked back at her, his expression softening slightly. "Yeah."

Lydia grabbed Stiles's hand and led him outside.

"So?" She began. "What happened with Scott now?"

"The same thing that's been happening with Scott for the past couple of weeks. I don't know what it is that all of a sudden makes it so important that he needs to know what happened."

"Maybe he figures a year is long enough."

" _Is_ a year long enough?"

Lydia looked down at her feet. "If you want to tell him…"

"The thing is…I don't. I don't want to tell him. It's none of his business, but I don't think he'll stop asking if I don't."

Lydia realized she was still holding his hand, and let it go so that she could link her arm through his.

"Tell him." She whispered.

"What?" He asked, obviously being caught off guard.

"Tell Scott. You need to tell him. I can still tell you're upset about it, so maybe talking about it with your brother will help."

Stiles was quiet for a moment before he asked, "Who did you talk about it with? I mean… it wasn't me."

"Um…Aubrey actually."

"Aubrey knows?"

"Not about you. She was just someone to talk to about it." They were quiet for a moment, before Lydia said, "If you're going to tell Scott…there's something you should..." Lydia stopped mid-sentence and gasped as she looked up in front of her.

"What is it?" Stiles asked her.

"Do you see him?" She asked, never moving her eyes.

Stiles followed her gaze. "The guy in the overcoat?" Lydia nodded. "What about him?"

"That's the guy I saw the other night in the woods."

Stiles let go of Lydia's arm and began to walk toward the man. "Hey!" He called out.

"Stiles! Watch out!" Lydia yelled. Stiles stopped just in time before a car passed in front of him. When the car moved, the man was gone.

"Where did he go?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know." She told him. "Come on." She said grabbing his upper arm and giving a small tug. "Let's go back to the house."


	10. Nightmares and Remembering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this may be the last chapter that I post until after Christmas. I'm going to take time to write more. I also really want to write a Christmas fic. I have a few ideas, but if there's something you want to see, let me know.

Lydia stayed for dinner and she and Stiles were tasked with washing dishes afterward. As she handed him a wet plate to dry, she asked, "Do you mind if I stayed here tonight?"

"Is your mom out of town again?"

Lydia shook her head. "No...I just...I feel safer here."

Stiles nodded slowly. "Yeah...you can stay."

He woke up in the middle of the night, realizing he'd never changed out of his clothes that day. He hadn't planned on falling asleep when he did. They were just laying on his bed watching a movie, and all of a sudden, he'd looked down and Lydia was asleep. She had gotten comfortable against him and he didn't have the heart to move her so that he could change. He'd ended up falling asleep.

She had since rolled over...maybe that's what woke him up...so he carefully climbed out of bed. That's when he heard something from downstairs. It could have been his dad or one of his siblings, but that creepy guy from earlier was plaguing his thoughts. He took a deep breath and softly opened his door and stepped out.

He crept slowly off the bottom step and was peaking around the corner when he heard Scott's voice.

"It's just me, Stiles." Stiles let out of the breath he was holding as he rounded the corner and into the kitchen. Scott had a bowl of cereal in front of him.

"Thank God." Stiles mumbled as he began thinking about something. He went to the cabinet and grabbed a glass and set it on the table. Then he went to the liquor cabinet and took out a bottle of whiskey.

"What are you doing?" Scott asked.

"Well," Stiles said as he began pouring himself a shot. "I'm not nearly drunk enough to tell you everything."

"Everything?" Scott asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." Stiles took the shot, and made a face then began to pour himself another one. "Everything." He took the second shot. "Okay, so by now you know that Lydia and I had a...thing. We never called it dating...Thinking back, I guess we basically were... but we saw it as more like friends with benefits. We broke it off when Allison and I got back together, and promised not to tell anybody. Fast forward about a year later...about a year ago..."

" _You're being quiet." Lydia told Stiles from the passenger's seat of the jeep. He didn't respond. "Stiles, what's wron-"_

" _You told Allison." He said shortly._

" _Told Allison what?"_

" _About us! We promised we wouldn't say anything and you went and told my girlfriend!"_

" _I..." She began with confusion on her face._

" _I mean...what the hell is wrong with you?" Lydia blinked._

" _I...I thought she knew."_

" _What would make you think that?"_

" _We were talking about guys we slept with and when I didn't mention you she said she knew about us, I thought that meant-"_

" _Oh my God!" he growled in frustration. "I told her that you were my first time, and that we only did it once."_

" _Oh..." She said as she bit her lip._

" _Yeah. Oh. Now she's pissed at me because she thinks I lied to her."_

" _Well you did-"_

" _Are you fucking kidding me right now? I'm not playing around. God, why would you think it would be okay to bring that up? Are you just trying to sabotage my relationship?"_

" _You know what? Fuck you, Stiles!" Lydia snapped. "If I wanted to sabotage your relationship I would have told her that you got me pregnant!"_

_Stiles hit the brake suddenly. "What?"_

"What?!" Scott had a spoonful of cereal halfway to his mouth.

Stiles began to pour another shot. "Yep." He downed the shot.

" _Shit." She whispered as if realizing what she had just said._

" _You...you're joking..." He didn't look up, eyes fixated on his steering wheel. "Please tell me you're not fucking serious?" He stuttered, as he was flooded with emotions._

_Lydia covered her face with both of her hands. "Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit."_

" _God...Lydia, what the fuck is wrong with you?" He looked at her, as angry tears filled his eyes "Why would you keep that from me? Why would you wait until now to tell me?"_

" _I..."_

" _You...you fucking_ bitch _!" He emphasized the word by slamming his foot on the accelerator. Lydia whipped her head around to glare at him._

" _What did you say to me?"_

" _I called you a bitch. I mean who the fuck keeps something like that from someone? Or did you just not tell me because you weren't sure if it was mine?"_

" _Oh yeah, because_ I _the was the one who slept with like ten people the minute I was single..oh wait, that was you."_

" _So then what was your excuse?" Lydia didn't say anything. "You realize it's been a year since we were together? A whole fucking year! And you're just now telling me that you got pregnant?! And then what happened? Was that vacation you took with your mom a way to secretly have a baby? Do I have a kid out there somewhere?"_

" _I didn't have a baby! I had a..I had an abortion!" She yelled._

Stiles dropped his hand holding the glass onto the counter.

"Shit." Scott couldn't think of another word that described what he wanted to say.

"Yeah..." Stiles stared at the glass in his hand. "I may have paraphrased that conversation... and we got into a pretty heated argument after that which ended with her walking in the rain and me driving home. I also may have blocked some things out, but that's basically what happened. She got pregnant, had an abortion, then waited a year to tell me about it. And I think it was an accident that she told me at that. So if she'd never told Allison about us, and we didn't get into that fight then I may never have known."

"That's what Lydia meant by opening her mouth being what made everything spiral out of control. Because she told Allison." Stiles nodded. "And that's what you meant about her being able to keep a secret... because she didn't tell you about getting pregnant."

"That about sums it up."

Scott sighed. "I'm sorry. I feel like a jerk now. I can see why you didn't want to tell me."

"Just don't tell anyone else."

Scott still had so many questions, but decided his brother had told him enough for one night. His ears suddenly perked up and Stiles raised an eyebrow.

Scott looked up and made eye contact with his brother. "You may want to go check on Lydia."

By the time Stiles made it back up to his room, Lydia was screaming.

"No! Please! Stiles, please!"

"Lydia!" He said as he sat on the edge of the bed. He put his hands on her shoulders and shook her. "Lydia, wake up. You're dreaming."

Her eyes opened and she sat up quickly, throwing her arms around his neck, and he instinctively caught her.

"Shh…"He said calmly as he rubbed her back. "You're okay."

"You were dead." She sobbed. "And I couldn't do it by myself."

"I'm right here. I'm fine."

"It was so real." She told him as she pulled away from him, her hands rested on his shoulder, but slowly began sliding down the front of his shirt. He lifted his hand up to wipe away the tears that were falling down her cheeks. Her hands had fallen to his abdomen, and she looked down with a curious look on her face, then reached for the hem of his shirt.

"Whoa!" He said in surprise and grabbed her hands.

"Show me your stomach." She told him. He quirked an eyebrow, but slowly lifted his shirt up.

Lydia's eyes zeroed in on a scar in the center of his torso.

"How did you get that?" She asked him.

He looked down to see what she was talking about.

"Oh…that…I….I can't remember."

She ran her fingers over the scar, and was met with a flash of Stiles being carried inside a tent by a man. Both of them covered in blood.

"You were shot." She told him.

"What?"

"In my dream, you were shot."

"You remember your dream?"

Lydia nodded. "Vividly. I wish I could forget it." She remembered every detail. The blood, the screaming that she didn't realize was her, the arms around her trying to hold her back as she tried to make her way to him, the woman who turned to her and apologized because there was nothing she could do-because Stiles was already dead. She remembered collapsing on top of him praying he would wake up somehow, resting her head on his chest and not hearing his heartbeat. "It was so real." She repeated. "It didn't feel like a dream…it felt like a memory."

"I think I would remember getting shot." He told her, as he brushed the hair out of her face, and tucked it behind her ear.

"You'd think I'd remember getting pregnant." She said softly. She raised her hand under his shirt to his chest, feeling his heart beat beneath her fingertips. "Your heart wasn't beating." She told him, referring back to the dream.

"But it's beating now." He said, as he placed his free hand on top of hers, holding it closer to his chest. It _was_ beating. It was actually beating a little quicker than Lydia thought was normal. The dream she had began playing over again in her head and the tears came back. "Hey..." he said soothingly. His hand that he'd used to brush her hair away from her face was still resting on her cheek. He used that hand to pull her forward and softly kissed her forehead. "I'm here." He whispered as he pulled away. She raised her eyes to meet his, something about his words sounding familiar. "I'm still here." Her eyes lowered slightly, landing on his lips. She felt his heartbeat increase under her hand. They were still so close, it didn't take much effort for Lydia to close the small gap between them. Her lips met his in a soft kiss.

As Stiles was watching her, he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but she had just broken up with her boyfriend and he had just taken three shots of whiskey- although hearing Lydia's screams had sobered him up relatively quickly. It was taking everything in him not to just grab her and kiss her. But then her lips were on his, and it was her that did it. He didn't make any movement to deepen the kiss, even though he wanted to. She was upset and looking for comfort. He wasn't going to read into it. Suddenly, it was like he was lying down, surrounded by complete darkness, a sharp pain in his abdomen. All he could hear was Lydia's voice softly repeating the same thing over and over again.

"I love you."

Stiles pulled away from her slowly. They were still sitting on his bed. "What'd you say?" He asked.

Lydia shook her head with confusion. "I didn't say anything." He realized he was still holding her hand to his chest, but he didn't want to move it.

"Is everything okay now?" They heard Scott from the door. Stiles didn't break his eye contact with Lydia when he answered.

"It's fine."

"It was just a nightmare." Lydia told him, again all while staring at Stiles.

"Alright, well I'm going to bed."

"Do you mind closing the door?" Stiles asked.

He heard the door shut, and he and Lydia never moved from their positions.

"What did you think I said?" Lydia asked him.

Stiles shook his head. "It's not important."

"But...your heart skipped a beat right before you pulled away. I felt it."

"It did?" He asked. She nodded. He thought for a moment, seeming like he was going to answer her when he looked away. "I was just hearing things."

Lydia finally took the time to assess what he was wearing. "You never changed clothes." She noted.

"Yeah, you fell asleep on me, and I didn't want to wake you up...so..." Stiles stopped when he noticed Lydia started crying again. "Oh, hey...is this about the dream again?"

She shook her head. "No, this is about hormones." She laughed in spite of herself, but then seemed to only want to cry harder.

"Look, take a deep breath. Calm down."

She covered her face with both of her hands, and his chest suddenly felt cold. "Stop being nice to me you're making it worse."

Stiles stifled a laugh. "Okay, well I'm going to change clothes."

When he took his shirt off, he saw his torso in the reflection of his mirror. He hadn't put much thought into the scar. It had never surprised him. It was as if he knew deep down it was something he'd have probably for the rest of his life, but it wasn't until Lydia said something that he really began to think about it. He didn't remember seeing it before they went to the nemeton... before Allison's party.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

He turned to face her.

"Why don't I remember getting this scar?" She only gave a look that repeated her earlier thoughts. Why didn't she remember getting pregnant? "Maybe you're not the only one forgetting things." He grabbed the shirt he'd just taken off and put it back on. "Come on."

"Where are we going?"

"Where this all started. The nemeton."


	11. Guppies and Chicken

Lydia was stumbling through the woods behind Stiles as they headed in the direction of the nemeton.

"What exactly do you think we're going to find here?" She asked him.

Stiles batted a branch out of the way, and ducked under another one. "I don't know. I just know that this is where it started, so there has to be something here. Right?"

Lydia sighed. "Not necessarily."

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Lyd."

"My lack of faith is not in you, it's the nemeton." She assured him as she dodged a branch. Stiles stopped suddenly, and Lydia ran into him. He reached his arm out behind him and she grabbed it to steady herself. "Why'd you stop?"

Stiles sighed. "Because I think we're lost."

She let go and stepped out from behind him. "What makes you think that?"

"Because that's the branch I broke about ten minutes back." He told her as he pointed to the snapped twig.

"I knew we should have grabbed Scott." She grumbled.

"Look, I-" He began but Lydia quickly shushed him.

"Do you hear that?" She asked. He shook his head. She took a few steps away from him and looked around, listening to an imaginary sound. "This is it."

"What do you mean?"

"This is where the nemeton is, I can feel it."

"Then why can't we see it?"

She shook her head. "I don't know." Stiles began looking around for anything that would give them some clue. Lydia stayed in one spot as she silently listened to whatever she needed to know. "Something happened here." She said finally.

"Lots of things happened here." Stiles said with a roll of his eyes.

"It was something important." She continued. "I just... I can't put my finger on it."

Stiles turned back to look at her. She was standing in the center of some trees, a hand on her stomach. She was looking around her as she absentmindedly rubbed small circles with her thumb right above her navel. He took a moment to admire how beautiful she looked. She was in his clothes still and the waning moon was still bright enough that it was lighting her perfectly. Her eyes finally met his and she gave him a sympathetic smile.

He took a deep breath and sighed. "You were right there's nothing here."

She shook her head. "No, there's something here... it's just not something we're going to find tonight."

"Today." He corrected. She raised an eyebrow. "It's like 4 am."

Her hand fell as her eyes widened. "Are you telling me we have to wake up in an hour and half for school?"

He shrugged. "We could skip?" She paused to think about his offer. "Maybe you could get a doctor's appointment."

"We'll see." She said with a yawn. "Right now, sleep is what I want."

* * *

When they got back to Stiles's room, Lydia immediately crawled into bed and Stiles began to change clothes again. He slipped out of his jeans and took his shirt off then went for his sweatpants. He was reaching for a shirt when Lydia spoke up.

"Can you leave your shirt off?" He turned around to look at her with a raised brow. She blushed slightly. "It's just...that scar...it's weirdly... comforting."

"Comforting..." He said the word over again, then shrugged. "I thought you were going to say sexy." He walked back to the bed and Lydia giggled.

"It's just..." She began as he laid down on his side facing her. "It's the first thing that's triggered a memory..." She reached out to run her fingers along the scar once more. "Even if it was a dream. It makes me believe that I'm not completely losing my mind."

"You're not losing your mind." he told her, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Lydia raised her eyes to meet his.

"Thank you." She bit her lip and snuggled close to him; her hand on his scar, and her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head as sleep overcame them.

* * *

When Stiles woke up, he didn't think twice about the fact that Lydia was still snuggled next to him. He reached for his phone, careful not to move too much and realized that it was almost noon.

"What time is it?" He heard Lydia mumble.

"11:54."

"Shit." She swore as she struggled to untangle herself from Stiles and make it to the bathroom.

He followed her in when he heard the retching.

"You okay?" He asked when she reached up to flush the toilet.

She groaned. "This is by far my least favorite part about being pregnant."

"Was there a favorite part?" He wasn't asking because he wanted to know. It was more of a sarcastic remark, but Lydia tilted her head to the side in deep thought.

"The guppies." She said.

"What?" He asked, completely thrown off.

Lydia looked up, obviously not having meant to say that out loud. "Oh..um...when...when the baby first starts to move it's not very big. It sort of feels like guppies swimming around."

"Do you...do you feel the guppies now?"

Lydia shook her head. "No, it's still too early." She told him, then thought about her answer, and with a shrug, she added, "Or maybe it's not... I mean...who knows? Maybe I should schedule that doctor's appointment."

He nodded. "Yeah."

"Do you mind handing me my phone? I don't know if I can stand up right now." Stiles nodded again and walked back into his room and picked up her phone from the bedside table. _3 missed calls_ appeared on the screen.

"Looks like someone is trying to get a hold of you." He said as he handed her phone back to her.

She took a look and sighed. "It's my mom."

"Are you going to call her back?" He asked.

Lydia shook her head. "No. She's going to ask why I'm not in school and I don't really have an answer for that yet." She sighed. "I'm just going to text her to let her know that I'm alive and I'll talk to her later." She tapped on her phone for a bit, then she was putting it to her ear. "Hi, this is Lydia Martin. I wanted to schedule an appointment for today if possible." She waited for a response and then looked up at Stiles. "3:15?" Stiles nodded. "Sounds perfect."

She was answering a few patient questions and Stiles stepped out of the bathroom and changed back into his jeans. He grabbed a shirt out of his dresser, then sat on the edge of his bed. A nervous excitement buzzed in his belly, and he wasn't sure why.

 _This isn't your kid, Stiles._ The logical part of his brain told him. _This isn't a redo. This isn't about you._

Lydia came out of the bathroom and leaned against the door frame.

"You look pensive."

He barely heard her through his thoughts. "What?" He asked as he looked up at her.

"Wow...you must have been thinking really hard about something."

"Oh...no...just...trying to figure out what to do for lunch."

Lydia was silent for a moment. "Chicken."

"What?" He asked nervously. "I'm..I'm not a chicken."

"What?" Lydia asked, all of a sudden extremely confused. "I'm not _calling_ you a chicken, I'm saying we should _eat_ chicken-why would you think I was calling you a chicken?"

"No reason." He said quickly. "So, chicken?"

Lydia nodded, then asked. "Would you think I was utterly disgusting if I stayed in this?" Referring to the clothes she was wearing. Stiles's clothes.

"No?" He said slowly.

"Good. Because I don't want to change. And also, I think you should give me all of your clothes."

Stiles let out a laugh. "Why?"

"Because! Your clothes are a whole lot more comfortable than mine. My clothes make me feel all..." She tried using hand gestures to describe the feeling, "Squished." Stiles chuckled. "God, I basically lived in your lacrosse hoodie last time." She said it without thinking, and an awkward silence settled around them.

Stiles wanted to say something, but remembered that they were friends again and he wasn't going to bring up any bad feelings. Instead, he quirked and eyebrow. "You still have my lacrosse hoodie?"

She blushed slightly. "Maybe."

"I've been looking for that things for two years!"

"Sorry." She shrugged.

He just smiled and shook his head. "Come on. Let's go get lunch."


	12. Secrets and Sonograms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has been written for over a month, so I'm glad to finally get it out there. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it! Please let me know what you think in the comments!

* * *

"Go sit down, I'm going to check in." Lydia told Stiles as they walked into the doctor's office. Stiles sat down in a chair and looked over at a pile of books and magazines next to him. _What to Expect When You're Expecting_ was on top. He picked it up and fanned through it.

"It's an interesting read." He heard next to him. He looked up and Lydia was sitting down.

"You read it?"

She shrugged. "They gave me a free copy. And, you know when boredom takes over, you pick up the first thing you can find." She quirked an eyebrow. "Actually, I think you'd really enjoy it."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I mean...you like weird things."

He chuckled. "I don't like _weird_ things."

Lydia laughed. "I guess that's not what I meant. It's just...I could see you really getting into the facts...like how big the baby is and knowing what's normal and what isn't." They both chuckled at the statement then without thinking Lydia added, "You'd be a great dad."

Stiles's smile faded and he looked away as he put back. "Well...that's not what you said before."

Lydia shook her her head, "I...I didn't mean that then. Shit, I'd actually forgotten that I said that."

"I'd sort of blocked it out myself until just now and I had a..." He made a motion with his hand. " A flashback."

Lydia put her hand on his and Stiles just stared down at it. "I'm so sorry. I said that when I was upset. I've always thought you'd be a great dad one day."

He looked up at her, a small smile forming on his lips. "Really?"

She nodded, then took a deep breath. "And while we're on it, there's something that you need to kn-"

"Lydia Martin?"

Lydia huffed out a sigh, then stood up. "Here."

* * *

There was a model of a baby inside the womb in the exam room. Stiles was taking time to admire it when Lydia emerged from the bathroom in a hospital gown.

"That is so sexy." He told her playfully when he turned around.

"Ha. Ha." She said sarcastically and climbed into the chair. "So uh...just stay next to my head please."

"Got it." He nodded.

"Thank you for being here."

He nodded. "I would have been there last time too."

She nodded. "I know."

There was a knock on the door and the female doctor walked in. "Hi, Lydia...oh... Lydia Martin! I knew your name sounded familiar! How are you, hon?"

"I'm good, Dr. Spencer. " Lydia smiled.

"That's good. And who's this?" She asked looking at the pale boy standing next to her.

"This is Stiles."

"Oh, are you two still together?"

"Oh!" Lydia began and Stiles tried speaking at the same time.

"We're not-"

"It wasn't-"

"Together."

"Like that."

Dr. Spencer lifted her hand to stop them. "No need to explain. My mistake." The two teens each took a deep breath as she sat down on the rolling stool. "So, Lydia...What brings you in here?"

"Well... I took four tests..."

"How many were positive?"

"All of them."

"Nausea?"

"Oh yeah."

"How long?"

"Uh...two weeks?" She questioned. "I may have had a stomach virus for part of that though."

The doctor nodded. "When was your last missed period?"

"I think I had one last month?"

"Breast tenderness or bloating?"

"All the above."

"Do you have a rough estimate about the date of conception?"

Lydia looked at Stiles. He shrugged. "I don't know why you're looking at me."

She sighed and looked back at the doctor. "Not exactly."

"Okay..." She said slowly. "Lydia, is there something I need to know?" Lydia bit her lip and shook her head. She was afraid if she told the doctor what was happening, she'd be sent to a psych evaluation. "Okay, then. Lie back." Lydia laid down and immediately reached for Stiles's hand.

"Just look at me." Lydia whispered to Stiles.

"Why?"

"Just do it." She told him as a look of discomfort passed across her face.

"You can look at the screen now, guys." Lydia gave Stiles a slight nod and they both turned to look at the black and white image. "So..." She said after a few minutes of searching the screen. "You're definitely pregnant. I only see one sac."

Stiles looked at Lydia with confusion. "One sac means one baby." She clarified.

"Gotcha." He nodded.

"Speaking of baby," The doctor said as she did something to get a clearer picture on the screen. " _That..._ is yours." She pointed to a tiny blob on the screen. Lydia gripped Stiles's hand tighter. "Judging by the size and your symptoms, I would say you're probably somewhere between 5 and 7 weeks along. I'm going to go ahead and print a couple of pictures for you and you can pick them up at the desk when you schedule your next appointment."

Stiles was staring at the screen in awe, when he heard a sniffle from next to him. He looked down and saw Lydia biting her lip, her eyes watering. "Are you okay?" He whispered.

She nodded. "Yeah... yeah I'm.. I'm good."

* * *

"Can we go to my house?" Lydia asked as they walked to the jeep. "I wanted to grab some things to bring to yours."

"Bring to mine?" He asked. "Are you moving in?"

"I..." She began, "No..." She added a little too late. "I just... until we figure out what's causing my sleepwalking...I just... I feel like I need to..."

"It's fine." He said, reaching for her hand. She took a deep breath and nodded.

She was quiet on her way to her house. She was staring at the ultrasound picture the entire time. When they pulled up to her house, her mom's car wasn't in the driveway.

"Come inside." She told him. She went straight up to her room and sat cross-legged on her bed and Stiles sat down on the edge.

She was still staring at the tiny piece of paper they were given. "You haven't stopped staring at that since we left."

"I just... I think I'm still in shock. I'm hoping the longer I stare at it the more that it will sink in that it's happening."

"You uh...you _want_ it to happen?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...are you saying you want to keep it?"

A hand went to her stomach as she stared at the ultrasound photo. "Yeah," she said after a moment. " Yeah, I do."

Stiles nodded slowly and stood up, turning away from Lydia as he rubbed his eyes.

"Stiles? Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh..no...yeah... I'm... I'm _great_." He said turning around and punching his right fist into his left hand. "I'm just uh..." Lydia slowly rose to her knees. "I'm just trying to not to be angry."

Lydia's eyes teared up and she bit her quivering lip. "Say it." She whispered.

At that, it was like a release, and he took a step toward her. "I just want to know how the _fuck_ you decide that you want to keep a baby that you don't even remember conceiving- who's dad could be _God knows what_ \- but when it's _our_ baby, you wanted nothing to do with it."

She sniffed and sobbed. "I _did_ want that baby." She said, a weight lifting off of her.

"You _wanted_ it? You had an abortion, Lydia. That kind of sounds like the exact opposite of wanting it."

Lydia didn't respond. She just climbed off the bed, opened the drawer on her bedside table, and pulled out a picture frame. Stiles recognized the picture as one from a couple of Christmases before of him in a Santa hat, kissing Lydia's cheek, her eyes squeezed shut and a huge smile on her face. She opened the back of the frame; another picture slid out, and she thrust it into Stiles's hand.

"What's this?" He asked before he looked at it.

"This was the last ultrasound photo ever taken." Stiles finally looked at the picture and slowly sat back down onto the bed, continuing to stare at the photograph. Lydia took a deep breath. "I've been trying to tell you something for the past two or three days and we keep getting interrupted." She paused to see Stiles's reaction, but he was still staring at this picture, with unshed tears in his eyes. "I lied to you." He looked up to meet her gaze, and she sat back down. "That picture was taken at 12 weeks." He had noticed that the baby looked more like a baby than the tiny blob they'd seen on the screen today. "12 weeks is the start of the second trimester and most people wait to tell their friends and family until then, because miscarriages become less likely. That's when I was going to tell you."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because that was the day the first oni showed up." She took a deep breath. "When I told you last year...you said some really hurtful things, and I admit, I said some really hurtful things back. But... when you asked me what happened...I told you it was an abortion. Which..."She gave a half shrug, "Wasn't a complete lie...because another name for a miscarriage is a spontaneous abortion."

"Mi-..miscarriage?" He shook his head as he tried to understand. She nodded. "But I thought you said that after 12 weeks miscarriages-"

"Are _less_ likely. But the way it was explained to me is that the trauma sustained when I was captured by the nogitsune made the environment unsuitable for the fetus to thrive." She sounded like she was quoting the doctor's words.

Stiles sat there processing what she had told him. "Are..." He began and set the picture on the bed. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He yelled as he stood up. "Why didn't you tell me this? Why did you make me believe that it was something _you_ did!"

"I don't know!" She said as stood up too. "I guess I was trying to prove a point! Because, for a moment when I first found out, I wanted to get an abortion... because you were back with Allison, and I guess I wanted to believe that if I would have gone through with it, that you would have supported me."

"Do you realize that the biggest reason I've been mad at you this whole time is because you made this decision without involving me in it? God, do you just like having me pissed at you?!"

"What?"

"Why wouldn't you tell me it was a miscarriage?"

"Wait, first you're mad at the lie I told, and now you're mad at the truth?"

"I'm mad because I wasted a year being pissed because of that lie you told. I'm mad that instead of telling me what really happened, you let me be pissed and chose to go through that by yourself! God, Lydia...I'm mad because I'm in love with you!" It slipped out before he had the chance to really process what he'd said.

Lydia stared wide-eyed at him for a moment. "What?" She asked barely above a whisper.

Stiles took a shaky breath. It was too late to take anything back. "I.."

Lydia ran forward, throwing her arms around him and colliding her lips with his.

After a moment of shock Stiles pulled back "Wait. You just broke up with Aiden-"

Lydia was shaking her head. "We broke up because of you. Because I told him I never loved him the way I love you." She smiled. "I was never _in love_ with him the way I'm in love with you." Lydia had barely gotten the last word out before Stiles had silenced her with another kiss.

 


	13. Feelings and Bullet Wounds

“Wait.” Stiles said as he pushed Lydia back slightly. They were both gasping for air. Neither of them really remembered how they ended up on the bed. But Stiles still had _some_ sense about him to realize where this was going. “We should…slow down.” He said between breaths.

 

“Yeah.” Lydia nodded as she sat up. “You’re right.”

 

“I am?” He asked, suddenly unsure of his earlier statement.

 

She nodded again. “Yeah…we shouldn’t rush into anything.” He reached for her hand and she sighed. “I mean…no matter what our feelings are…we did both just get out of relationships.” Then added. “One more serious than the other.”

 

Stiles chuckled. “Yeah…”

 

“I should probably finish getting my things together so we can get back to your house before my mom gets home.”

 

He nodded and let go of her hand so she could get up. She began to bustle around her room and he realized the picture had fallen off the bed. He reached down to pick it up and stared at it again.

 

“You can keep that one.” She told him.

 

“Really?” He asked, looking up at her.

 

She nodded. “Yeah. I’ve got another one. I was going to give that one to you anyway.” Stiles looked over and saw the picture from the doctor today sitting on her bedside table. He picked that one up and looked at it.

 

“Hey, Lydia.”

 

“Yeah?” She asked.

 

He took a deep breath. “Would you think I was crazy if I told you that when I look at both of these pictures…I feel the same attachment to both?”

 

Lydia turned to look at him. He wasn’t looking at her, and he was biting his lip. “What are you saying?” Her heartbeat sped up slightly. “I mean…are you saying that you remember something that you haven’t told me, because I-“ It came out panicked.

 

“No!” He said quickly, once he was able to find his words. “No, that’s not what I’m saying at all. It’s not a memory…it’s….it’s more of a feeling.”

 

Lydia didn’t reply, she just finished gathering her things together.

 

“So…you _do_ think I’m crazy.” He said it as a statement.

 

“I never said that.”

 

“No, you didn’t say anything. I feel like that’s worse.”

 

“I don’t know what to say, Stiles.” She took a deep breath. “I mean…neither of us remember anything. It’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility-”

 

“-But you don’t want it to be true.”

 

“Stop putting words into my mouth!” She growled in frustration. “I just,” She continued. “I don’t know… don’t want to get my hopes up? If I were being honest, I have a similar feeling. Maybe that’s why I want to keep it.” She put a hand on her stomach. “But what if we’re wrong?”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“But what if we’re not.” He countered as he stood and reached out to grab both of her hands in his. “What if there was a way that it could be true? You don’t remember getting pregnant, I don’t remember getting this scar. What if it’s all connected?”

 

Lydia looked up at him, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears. “Let’s not think about that.” She whispered and pulled her hands away from his and turned around.

 

“How long have you loved me?” He asked suddenly.

 

“What?” She turned back to face him.

 

“How long have you been in love with me?”

 

“I don’t know.” She told him as she busied herself with her things. “I guess I can’t remember.”

 

“Before the night at the nemeton, I didn’t know what that feeling was.” He said. “It had been sitting there for so long. But that night, when you woke up with that piece of glass in your hand, I was holding your wrist and all of a sudden something inside me clicked. It was like my mind was a broken record telling me over and over again, ‘You’re in love with her, you’re in love with her.’ And all at once the thought felt new, and familiar at the same time. Like it was something I’d been telling myself for years. But I hadn’t. I’d only just realized it.”

 

Lydia sighed exasperated as a tear dripped down her cheek. She grabbed her bag and went to her door. “Let’s just go.”

 

Stiles beat her there, extending his hand from behind her to close the door in her face. He kept his hand propped up on the door, and Lydia looked down for a moment, before turning to look at him.

 

“Something happened, Lydia. I know it did. I’m not having dreams like you or remembering anything. It’s just a feeling. I can’t explain it.”

 

She a took a deep breath. “If I promise to consider it, would you drop it for now and let us leave before my mom gets home?” He stared at her for a few moments, before nodding slowly and pulling away from the door. “Thank you.” She mumbled and left the room.

 

* * *

  
They didn't say much on the ride back to Stiles's house, but halfway there, he reached for her hand and she didn't move it, so he figured that was a good sign.

 

What wasn't a good sign was when they walked through the front door and saw Sheriff Stilinski waiting expectantly for them.

 

“We need to talk.” He said seriously. Stiles's heart dropped into his stomach as he thought about the many possible reasons for his father's tone.

 

“O-okay.” He voice was shaky, he reached for Lydia's hand again to provide him the support he needed. He squeezed it, then turned to her “If you want to head up to my room I-”

 

Lydia was about to protest. She wasn't going to leave him alone, but it didn't matter. “Actually,” Stilinski continued. “I'd like to talk to both of you.”

 

Stiles let out a breath. If he needed to talk to Lydia too, then the really bad things that were going through his head wouldn't have concerned her.

 

Noah motioned to the chairs across from him at the table, and Lydia and Stiles exchanged glances as they sat down.

 

“I got a call from the school today, that neither of you showed up for class.”

 

“Well, you see-” Stiles tried to explain, but his father cut him off.

 

“I'm not finished.” Stiles slowly sat back. “That's not really what I care about. I figured it was something related to the supernatural...but then...I got home and decided to gather the trash and I found something very interesting in your bathroom.” He looked pointedly at Stiles, then glanced back at Lydia, eyes softening. “Is there something I need to know?”

 

“Regarding...?” Stiles questioned, slowly.

 

The Sheriff sighed, and opened his mouth to say something, but Lydia interrupted. “It's fine, Stiles.” Stilinski looked back at the banshee and Lydia took a deep breath. “The pregnancy tests were mine.” The Sheriff nodded slowly.

 

“Stiles?” He looked back at his son.

 

The younger boy was looking down, and his head popped up when he heard his name. “What? _I'm_ not pregnant.”

 

Noah closed his eyes, in an attempt to not reach his hands across the table and strangle his son. “I meant, are you responsible.”

 

“I...”Stiles started, and shared a look with Lydia.

 

“It's complicated.” Lydia finally said.

 

The older gentleman shook his head. “It's not that complicated, guys. I know how babies are made, I _have_ had a few of my own.”

 

“That's...sort of _why_ it's complicated.” Stiles told his father and watched him raised an eyebrow at the two teens.

 

“I don't exactly remember doing that thing that makes the babies.” Lydia told him, cheeks turning pink.

 

The Sheriff nodded slowly, obviously finding this conversation just as awkward and embarrassing as the kids. “And you're sure it wasn't just a false positive?” Then corrected, “Well, _four_ false positives.”

 

“We're sure.” Stiles answered and reached into his pocket for the picture from the afternoon and handed it to his father.

 

Stilinski looked at it for a moment, before his forehead wrinkled in confusion. “This is dated two years ago.”

 

“Shit!” Stiles exclaimed as Lydia's eyes widened. He reached for the picture, but his dad held it just out of his reach, as he waited expectantly for an explanation. “O-okay, Th-that one..” Stiles pointed spastically at the picture, as he stuttered. “That...that one was my bad.” Lydia buried her face in her hands as Stiles reached for his other pocket that held the sonogram from that day. “This one...” He began as he presented the second picture. “Is the one that we're not 100% about.” Stiles rubbed the back of his neck as his father looked between the two teens and the two pictures. “Can uh..” Stiles began again. “Can I just...get that one back?” He pointed the first picture.

 

When the Sheriff looked back at the kids, his eyes were glassy, as if finally putting the pieces together. Stiles couldn't make eye contact with his dad, knowing that the older man was thinking about everything his son had been through the past two years. Watching those emotions, would make him start to think about things, and he didn't really feel like taking that trip right then.

 

Noah slid the first picture back to his son, and Stiles put his hand on top of it to pull it closer to him, with a mumbled, “Thanks.”

 

The Sheriff cleared his throat after a few minutes, and began, “I want to revisit that one,” Stilinski nodded at the picture Stiles was still holding on top of the table, “At a later time. This one though...”

 

“Please don't tell my mom.” Lydia begged.

 

“Lydia-”

 

“Please, Sheriff! I've tried to tell her about the supernatural and she just refuses to believe it. She's not going to understand-”

 

“Wait.” The Sheriff held up a hand. “You think you got pregnant _supernaturally_?”

 

Lydia bit her lip to stop the tears from falling.

 

It didn't work.

 

A sob escaped her chest and Stiles put his hand that wasn't holding the photo on her knee and gave it a squeeze.

 

“I don't remember anything happening. I never would have even taken a test if Scott hadn't heard the heartbeat.”

 

“I've got this scar.” Stiles said and stood up, raising his shirt.

 

“When did you get shot?” The sheriff almost yelled in a panic.

 

“What?” Lydia gasped and shared a look a Stiles.

 

“How do you know it's from a gun?” Stiles asked his dad.

 

“I've seen my fair share bullet wounds, son. Fresh and healed. I've got one on my leg. That's a bullet wound.”

 

Stiles shook his head. “I've never gotten shot. At least...not that I can remember...and that's not something that could just sneak by undetected.” He looked to the banshee, “Lydia, if I wasn't sure before, I'm sure now. Something happened to us.”

 

Stilinski finally sighed. “I won't tell your mom, Lydia. But you need to figure out how you're going to tell her.”

 

Lydia looked down, getting lost in her own thoughts. “I was kind of thinking about bringing a baby home in eight months for winter break.” she nodded to herself, “Yeah, we'll set up a nativity scene and it'll be the baby Jesus all wrapped up in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And I'll say, Behold, Mother.” She outstretched her arm as if gesturing at the manger. “This is your grandchild who will bring you love and joy and happiness. I had such a hard time finding a Christmas present for you last year, that I started working on this one 9 months ago, because I figured, what mother wouldn't want her 18 year-old daughter to give her a grandchild?”

 

Lydia finally looked up to see both Stilinski men smirking at her.

 

She sighed. “Yeah... I'll figure it out.”

 


	14. Monsters and Make Up Tests

When Stiles woke up in his bed with his arms wrapped around Lydia, it was still dark. He sighed and snuggled closer to her, trying to go back to sleep. (To no avail.)

Suddenly he heard a creak and a whispered, "Stiles?"

"Kayce?" Stiles muttered as he looked up and saw his little sister standing in the doorway. He shrugged the blankets off of him and sat up as Kayce walked over to him. "What's wrong?"

"There was a monster in my room."

"Show me." Stiles held out his hand and his sister grasped it tightly and led him out of his room and into hers.

"It was in the window." She told him as they walked in. Stiles crept over to the window, and pulled back the pink curtain.

Her window was open slightly and Stiles could see scratch marks on the glass, but neither of those things meant anything. He made sure the window was shut and secured, then closed the curtains back.

"If there was anything there-"

"There was!" She protested.

Stiles sighed and bent down to her level. "I'm not saying there wasn't. If you say there was something there, I believe you. But whatever it was, it's gone now."

Kayce nodded and looked down at her feet. "Can I sleep in your room tonight?"

And there it was. He knew this was coming. Stiles opened his mouth, but--

"It's fine." He heard Lydia's voice from the door. She was standing against the frame with a thoughtful smile on her face, and he wondered just how long she had been there.

Kayce looked up at Lydia then back at Stiles, hopeful. "Well, you heard her." He told the little girl and stood, lifting Kayce up and carrying her back to his room. The three of them climbed into bed, putting Kayce in the middle.

When Stiles woke up again, there was a foot jabbing into his lower back and another one in his face. He turned his head to see that Kayce's head was resting against Lydia's and the little girl was laying horizontally across the bed.

Well, at least they looked comfy. Stiles realized the sun was just beginning to rise, and groaned. He would not be getting back to sleep again before school.

* * *

Stiles was pouring a cup of coffee when Scott walked into the kitchen.

"I thought I heard someone down here." The wolf joked as he made his way over to the cabinet Stiles was standing in front of.

"It's just me." Scott paused and cocked his head, staring at his brother. Stiles wrinkled his forehead as he watched the alpha's gaze. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"I don't know. Something seems...different about you."

"Maybe because I didn't sleep." Stiles quipped as he took a long swig of his coffee.

Scott shook his head. "No, you never sleep. That wouldn't be it."

Stiles rolled his eyes behind the coffee cup. "Well, then I couldn't tell you."

"Stiles?" He heard Kayce's voice.

"What's wrong?"

"Lydia's sick. She's throwing up in the bathroom."

 _Morning sickness._ Stiles thought. "She'll be okay." Stiles promised his little sister.

"But," Kayce continued, a slight panic to her voice. "What if you and I get sick just like I got you and Lydia sick before?"

"Oh...you know...you don't have to worry about that. We're not going to get sick, and if we do...it won't be because of Lydia."

"How do you know?"

"Because I just know. Have I ever lied to you before?"

"No."

Stiles shrugged his shoulders as if to say 'See?'

"Okay." She smiled.

"Go get dressed for school." Stiles told her. She ran upstairs as he sipped on his coffee again.

"Lydia slept over? Again?" Scott questioned, his eyebrows raising at his brother.

"Get used to it. She's afraid to be by herself at night. She still doesn't know why she's sleep walking." Scott rolled his eyes, but Stiles pretended not to see it. Right behind Scott's shoulder, Stiles saw the whiskey from the other night and remembered his conversation with Scott, and then remembered what Lydia told him. "Oh." Stiles said suddenly.

"What?" Scott asked. Stiles put his coffee mug now.

"I found something out yesterday." Scott was waiting for Stiles to continue. "Remember what I told you the other night?"

Scott nodded. "About the abortion?"

Stiles nodded. "Turns out she lied."

"She wasn't really pregnant?!"

"No, she was." Stiles quickly corrected him, then took a deep breath. "It was a miscarriage." For some reason, telling Scott about it, made him a lot more emotional than he thought he would be. He cleared his throat as he swallowed back the lump that was forming. "I just... wanted you to be aware since I told you the other story...I didn't want you to judge her for something it turns out she didn't do." He took another deep breath, not making eye contact with his brother. "I'm uh... going to go check on Lydia." Stiles started to walk away, but stopped. "Oh!" He turned around. "Also, Kayce said she saw a monster at her window. There were scratches on the glass and the window was opened like an inch, but I didn't see anything else. If you want to double check on it... Sniff around in there..."

Scott nodded and Stiles turned back around to head up the stairs. When he got back to his room, he heard the shower running. He had the brief thought of walking into the bathroom and asking to join, but then remembered that he wasn't exactly sure where their relationship stood at the moment. They confessed their love for each other and made out, then said they wanted to slow down. What did that even mean? How slow were they supposed to go? Like...were they "just friends" slow, or like "let's not put a label on all the sex" slow?

He heard the water turn off and a few moments later, the door opened and Lydia walked out in a towel, letting out a yelp when she saw Stiles laying on the bed.

"God! You scared the shit out of me."

"I wasn't even doing anything." Stiles laughed.

"You were just so quiet out here." She told him as she tried to dry her hair with another towel.

"Are you feeling okay?"

The banshee shrugged. "About as good as can be expected."

"Kayce told me that you were sick. She was worried that she and I were going to get sick too."

"What'd you tell her?"

Stiles shrugged. "Just that we would be fine, and if we got sick, it wouldn't be your fault." Lydia nodded. "You'll probably have to tell her the truth soon though."

"Me? Why do I have to do it?"

Stiles shrugged. "I don't know...I could do it. I just figured _you'd_ want to." Stiles sat up on the bed and put his feet on the ground. "Although, we probably need to tell your mom before we tell my 8 year-old sister."

"You know...I was like 90% serious about not telling my mother."

"I know you were." Stiles took a deep breath. "If that's really what you want to do, then I'm not going to go behind your back and tell her. My dad on the other hand..." Lydia huffed. "I mean... I'm sure she'd rather hear it from you."

Lydia shook her head. "She's going to kick me out. I know it."

"Well, then it's a good thing my dad is already okay with you staying here. And we're almost out of school, so we'll be going off to college and you wouldn't be under her roof anyway."

Lydia shrugged. "True."

Stiles stood and walked past her to head to the bathroom, then stopped and turned back to her.

"Hey, Lydia?"

"Yeah?" She asked as she looked back at him.

"Would you...Do you...Will you..."

"Spit it out, Stiles."

"Wanna go on a date? With me?"

Lydia was obviously taken by surprise. A small smile appeared on her face and slowly grew to a grin. "I'd love to."

He nodded ."Okay. Good." He nodded toward the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a shower now."

"Have fun."

* * *

"Are you going to tell everybody?" Scott leaned forward from the backseat, as soon as they had dropped Kayce off.

"Tell everybody what?" Lydia was in the passenger's seat and now she was genuinely confused.

"You're kidding, right?" Scott asked incredulously. Lydia looked back him gesturing that she still didn't know. "You know...the fact that I heard another heartbeat and I _wasn't wrong_? Geez, how many secrets do you have that you would need to tell everyone about?"

Stiles and Lydia shared a look.

Lydia sighed. "I'm still trying to figure out if I want to tell my mom. You, your dad, and Stiles are the only ones that know about it."

"Maybe we should tell everyone at the same time. Like a pack meeting or something." Stiles suggested.

Scott squinted at the two of them. "Wait...is there something else I don't know about?

"They could help." Lydia told Stiles with a small nod, ignoring Scott's comment.

"Help with what?!" The werewolf was getting frustrated.

"Call a pack meeting for this afternoon." Stiles finally told his brother.

Scott growled under his breath. "Fine."

* * *

The last bell of the day rang and Stiles met Lydia at her locker.

"Ready to go?" He asked. Lydia sighed and nodded.

"Hey, guys." Scott came up to them. "I'll catch a ride with Kira. See you when you're done."

Peter had asked if they could take their make up tests after school. Lydia had already told him yes when he asked Stiles and since he was Lydia's ride, he was inclined to agree as well.

They walked back into Peter's classroom for the second time that day and were the only two in there. "Here you go." Peter gave them their tests when they sat down, then sat back down at the desk and propped his feet up on it.

"You know," Peter began suddenly when they were both about halfway through their tests. "Next week we start talking about the reproductive system and how babies are made. Not the actual sex part, but what happens when the sperm meets the egg. I've been doing some research about it. Did you know that the first two weeks you're not actually pregnant. Conception basically happens at week three. Then, five weeks is when its heart starts beating for the first time. A doctor couldn't hear it with any of their machines, but... a werewolf might." Peter took a deep breath, and both Lydia and Stiles had stopped writing, but neither one of them looked at him. "I heard it. Last week when we were talking about fear. I thought you were scared...your heart was beating so fast. Then you said you weren't, and I focused my hearing and your heart was beating at a normal, steady rhythm. I thought maybe I had been hearing things. Then Monday, you come in here, freaking out about how Scott thought you were pregnant...so now... we're by ourselves in here, and I can hear it so clearly."

"What do you want, Peter?" Stiles finally looked up from his test.

"I just want to help." His eyes were soft and if Stiles hadn't been given ample reasons not to trust this man, he would assume that the new teacher was telling the truth.

"And what do you gain by helping us?" Lydia questioned him, as she looked up from her test too.

Peter shrugged. "I'm not sure I get anything." He sat up in his chair and put his feet down, staring at Lydia. "Look...I just want to protect you guys." Then he looked to Stiles. "All three of you."

"Why?" Stiles asked softly.

Peter looked like he wanted to say something, but changed his mind. "You know. Never mind. If you don't want my help, fine. If you change your mind, you know where to find me." Peter glanced at the clock. "You've got 20 minutes."


	15. Peter Hale and Ancient Rome

"Okay, what the hell was that?" Stiles exclaimed once he and Lydia were out of the school.

Lydia shook her head. "Something about that felt really off."

"It's Peter! Everything about him feels off!"

"What does he think he can help us with?"

"Hell, if I know."

Stiles swung his jeep door open and threw his stuff into the back.

"It just," Lydia continued. "It makes me curious."

Stiles stopped and stared at her for a moment. "You're not actually thinking about going back to ask him, are you?"

"No! I'm just..."

"Lydia, listen to me. You and I will figure it out; and after today, we'll have the pack to help us figure it out. If not...I'm sure there are plenty more people that we can go to that would help us a lot better than _Peter Hale_." Lydia nodded and the two of them climbed into the jeep.

"How much are we telling them?" Lydia asked once Stiles started the jeep.

He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, then slowly dropped his hand from the key and sat back in his seat.

* * *

"What is this meeting about?" Liam whined.

"I already told you." Scott growled. "Stiles and Lydia wanted to tell everybody something."

"Is it that they're together?" Corey asked. "Because if so..."

"That's not it." Scott informed him quickly, then wrinkled his forehead in thought. "At least...I don't think that's what it is." He looked at Kira, who only shrugged.

"I'm just saying," Corey continued. "As long as Hayden and I have known them they barely talk to each other, but when they're in the same room together you can cut the sexual tension with a knife."

"I think that's just regular tension." Mason corrected. "And it's because everyone in the room gets tense when they're around each other."

Corey opened his mouth to reply, when the front door opened. Lydia stepped inside and Stiles was behind her with a hand on her back.

"Hand on the back," Corey whispered to Mason. "Told you."

"Look, idiots." Hayden whispered harshly at the two boys. "Stiles just broke up with Allison."

"Oh, please!" Liam got in on the whisper argument. "Those two haven't had any spark for like a year. Breaking up with Allison is not a valid point for your argument."

"I'll be right back." Lydia mumbled quickly. "I'm going to change clothes really quick." She dropped her bag and ran upstairs.

"Wait..." Mason began. "She left her bag."

"Yeah, so?" Hayden was confused.

"So, then where are her clothes?"

"Wait!" Liam whisper-exclaimed. "Is she living here?"

Corey shrugged. "Like I said. Those two are-"

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Stiles asked. The four sophomores turned to look at him.

"Nothing." They all replied.

There was a knock at the front door and Scott answered it. "Did I miss anything?" They heard Isaac's voice and Stiles groaned.

"See?" Hayden whispered. "He's still pissed about Isaac sleeping with his girlfriend."

" _Ex-_ girlfriend." Stiles corrected, and the sophomores jumped. "Yeah, I may not have super-hearing, but you guys aren't exactly being that quiet either."

"Sorry." They mumbled their apologies. Lydia made her way back down in sweatpants and a t-shirt and the sophomores exchanged looks with each other again.

"Okay." Lydia began when she went to stand in front of everybody. "Let's get this over with." Stiles stood next to her and Scott, Isaac and Kira all sat down. "So... I'm assuming you guys are all wondering why we wanted this meeting."

Lydia found Stiles hand with her own and he gave it a squeeze. "We've sort of been dealing with something and trying to figure it out on our own and-"

"And there's other stuff going on that may be more important than this...Allison missing, people dying, and _Peter_... but maybe it's all connected somehow." Lydia didn't seem so sure of that.

"What's going on, guys?" Hayden asked.

"Well," Stiles spoke up. "You guys know that Lydia was sleep walking."

Everyone nodded, but Lydia interjected, "Oh, and by the way. If you guys are looking for me, I'm living here for the time being." The sophomores exchanged glances again. "It's just safer this way..." She trailed off, but took another deep breath. "Um...I've got...holes...in my memory." She looked at Stiles. "Stiles too." They nodded at each other and Stiles lifted his shirt.

"I was shot."

"When?!" Scott gasped.

"That's the thing. I don't remember it happening, and it's not like I can recover from a bullet wound without any of you knowing about it either."

"And then..." Lydia continued. "Well.. I should probably be waiting about five or six weeks before telling you guys...but you would figure it out before then anyway." She shook her head. "Maybe you should just hear for yourselves." Everyone got silent for several moments, the few that didn't have super-hearing just looked around confused.

"Oh my god." Hayden finally muttered.

"What is it?" Mason asked.

"I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be hearing." Liam said honestly.

"There are only nine people in the room." Hayden tried to explain.

"Yeah, and?" Liam was still confused.

"So-" Hayden tried, but Isaac interrupted her.

"So, then why are there 10 heartbeats?"

"Oh, my God! Lydia!" Kira exclaimed. "Are you pregnant?"

Lydia nodded softly.

"So you cheated on Allison, got the banshee pregnant then broke up with her because she cheated on you?" Isaac snapped at Stiles.

Stiles made a move for Isaac, but Lydia put her hand out to stop him.

"Stiles didn't cheat on Allison." Lydia spoke up for him. "Not with me anyway...and if this baby _did_ belong to Stiles, then I don't think it can be considered cheating when neither of us remember it happening."

"So, let me get this straight." Liam began. "You," he pointed at Stiles. "Have a healed bullet wound, but don't remember getting shot, and you," he looked at Lydia. "Are pregnant but don't remember getting pregnant?" The two exchanged looks and nodded. "So, then what do you guys think happened?"

"I couldn't begin to tell you." Lydia said.

"There's one theory." Stiles spoke up. "I mean, it's not a lot to go on, but things have felt different since the night of Allison's party. When we ended up at the nemeton."

"Oh, there's a bright idea," Isaac scoffed. "Blame the magic tree stump!"

"Hey, Isaac," Stiles snapped. "How about you shut the fuck up?"

"Stiles, calm down." Lydia tried.

"How can I calm down when that bastard is being a hypocritical jerk? What's his purpose anyway? He should have left instead of Allison. At least she would have been helpful."

"You don't mean that." She turned back to Isaac, "He doesn't mean that." She didn't notice the confused looks on everybody's faces.

"Yes, I do! I wish he never came into our lives!"

"Stiles!"

"He's infuriating! All he's ever done is judge, when he has no right to!" He looked up to see Isaac still standing there looking bewildered. "What are you still doing there?"

"He has a right to be here. He's part of the pack. You" She poked his chest. "Need to calm. The fuck. Down." She rubbed his arm lightly. "Okay? Deep breaths."

Stiles did as he was told, closing his eyes to block everything else out. When he reopened them everyone was still staring at the two of them.

"What?" Stiles asked.

"Oh, good!" Kira sighed. "We're back to English."

"Back to?" Stiles questioned. "What do you mean 'back to' English. We never _left_ English."

"No," Corey shook his head. "You guys definitely took a holiday somewhere else."

"Somewhere like Ancient Rome." Mason said, looking at his phone. He looked up and handed the phone over. "You guys were speaking Latin." He'd recorded a bit of their conversation, and it was most certainly not in English.

"But I don't know Latin." Stiles attempted to argue.

Scott shrugged. "Maybe you learned it when you were recovering from being shot."

Lydia rubbed her temples and sat down. "What the hell is happening?"

Stiles was replaying the video that Mason took. He heard himself speaking Latin, but understood everything he was saying. "Seriously? Latin? How could I know Latin?"

Liam spoke up, "Have you guys thought about Scott doing his claw thing. And maybe he could figure it out? Or maybe hypnosis?"

Lydia and Stiles exchanged looks, but Scott shook his head. "I'm afraid I'll hurt you. Maybe we should try hypnosis first? I'm sure Deaton could help us."

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess we could try that."

Lydia sighed. "Changing topics slightly...Peter knows and thinks he can help."

"For the last time," Stiles began. "We are not trusting Peter."

"I know, Stiles. I'm just letting everyone else know that he's trying to help." She turned back to the rest of the pack "Which means he's got some sort of motive, but he wouldn't tell us what it was."

Scott took a deep breath. "Like I said last week when he showed up again, we take everything he says with a grain of salt. He hasn't given us a reason to trust him yet."

"Of course not. It's Peter." Stiles.

"Well.." Kira started slowly, "While we're having this meeting, has anybody heard from Allison, or do we know anything more about Mrs. Finch's death?"

Scott shook his head. "I haven't heard anything about Allison. And the last thing I heard from Deaton was that he thought it was voodoo."

"Since when did we start living in the Bayou?" Stiles rolled his eyes.

"It was just a theory." Scott shrugged. "And unfortunately, there's not much else we can tell from Mrs. Finch. We need another body."

"So, what?" Isaac asked. "We're just supposed to sit around and wait for someone else to die?"

"For right now...yeah."

"This is bullshit." Isaac grumbled. He turned to Stiles and Lydia, shooting daggers with his glare. "Congratulations on your bundle of joy. I'm out of here."

The entire room jumped when the door slammed behind him.

"Well it took him long enough." Stiles mumbled under his breath.

Lydia quickly ran out of the room, and a moment later they heard the bathroom door slam.

"Are you going to go after Isaac?" Kira asked Scott.

"No...I'll give him some time."

"I don't understand why he needs to be coddled."

"We get it!" Scott finally snapped at his brother. "You don't like Isaac. You've never liked him, and him sleeping with your girlfrien-"

"Ex girlf-"

" _Alliso_ _n_. Him sleeping with Allison didn't help, but you need to stop."

"The past few weeks have been absolute shit for me. Do you not get that? This whole meeting was about us asking for help because we both feel like we're losing our goddamn minds and all he did was throw a tantrum and leave. And instead of going after him and yelling at him for acting like a child, you yell at me?"

"Stiles, I-" Scott began softly, realizing how hurt his brother was, but Stiles interrupted him.

"No, Scott...I expected more sympathy from you. From my _brother._ Especially after what I told you this morning. What I _just_ found out." Stiles was referring to the miscarriage, but he and Lydia decided that it wasn't anybody else's business to know about it just yet, so he was avoiding saying it out loud. "I hope you never have to know what that feels like, but if you did, I hope _you_ don't get yelled at for showing the slightest disdain toward the person responsible."

Scott cocked his head in confusion. Stiles just shook his and went back toward the bathroom Lydia had just gone into.

"Is it just me," Corey began. "Or have these pack meetings been getting more and more dramatic?"

Mason and Liam nodded, and Hayden just shook her head rolled her eyes.

 


	16. Laughter and Hypnosis

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I know you had to wait an extra week for this chapter and I'm so sorry! I went to a Simple Plan concert last weekend, and it was my first time seeing them live. They've been one of my favorite bands since I was 14/15 and I got VIP passes to meet them afterwards and it was incredible...(fun fact: Simple Plan fanfiction was the first fanfiction that I wrote...and it wasn't that great lol) Anyway, it turns out... while Simple Plan is great muse music for angst, it wasn't really what I needed for this chapter and I kind of hit a wall last Monday with my writing. So, I had to take a step back and let it breathe for a little bit before I was able to come back and finish the chapter. I also tried to make it a little bit longer since I made you guys wait, but I'm not so sure I succeeded on that front.
> 
> Anyway, I just wanted to thank you guys for your patience. You're awesome!

 

Stiles woke up drenched in sweat, and realized it wasn't for any reason other than the fact that Lydia had apparently gotten warm in the middle of the night. She had kicked all of the covers off of her and onto him.

Stiles sighed as he got up and decided to cool off downstairs. He noticed the light in the living room was still lit, then saw his father sitting in the chair. His stomach clenched as he realized the conversation that needed to be had.

"You're still awake?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah." The older man groaned. "Your brother woke me up-"

"Ugh..."Stiles made face. "Did Kira stay over?"

Noah's eyes shined with confusion for a moment, before a look of horror replaced it. "Oh God…not Scott…your _little_ brother."

"Oh!" Stiles chuckled. "Sorry for putting that image in your head."

The sheriff shook his head. "It's fine…but yeah…I couldn't get back to sleep after that, so I'm just reading." He held up a book that he'd had in his lap. Stiles nodded and sat down. His leg bounced anxiously as he tried to think about how to bring it up. Noah, who had gone back to reading, looked up over his book and saw his son's expression. "Stiles?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you want to say something?"

"Yes." He nodded and began wringing his hands.

There was more silence. The sheriff took a deep breath as he put his book down. "Is this about the picture you showed me on accident?"

Stiles nodded, biting his lip as he tried to hold back the emotion creeping up inside of him.

His father sighed, "Stiles, you don't need to-"

"No..." He looked up and met the older man's gentle eyes. "I _do_ need to. I just... I don't know how to start." Noah nodded and sat back, waiting for his son to continue. There were a few more moments of silence before Stiles finally said. "I didn't know." His father sat forward slightly, ready to take in everything the boy was about to tell him. "She didn't tell me she was pregnant. She kept it to herself for a year...and when she finally did tell me last year..she said she'd had an abortion." He swallowed a lump in the back of his throat. "Except...I just found she had a miscarriage. And somehow, it's different. I mean, for a year, I guess I just assumed that she immediately decided she didn't want to have my kid and took care of it...That she never wanted it and I didn't know about it, and I guess I was sad... but I was just more angry at her than anything. It feels like I didn't know it was real until the other day. Like maybe I subconsciously thought she was lying about the whole thing...you know...proof or didn't happen." He sniffed. So far, he was doing a good job keeping the tears at bay, but he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold them off much longer. "But then, she told me she was going to keep it, that she was about to tell me . And she showed me the sonogram, and it was like this weight of realization came crashing down on me." A sob escaped his chest and the older man's eyes were glassy with tears of his own. "There was a baby...and it was wanted and loved...and then...it died..and I just..." His breathing was becoming erratic and the sheriff was suddenly wrapping his arms around his son, silently telling him he didn't have to say anything else. That he understood. Stiles was gripping the back of his father's shirt as his tears soaked the shoulder. They sat for several minutes, not moving, until Stiles was able to get his breathing back under control, but even then they didn't separate. "When you found out the other baby died...how did you get over it?"

The sheriff shook his head and whispered, "I haven't."

The two guys talked for awhile longer before turning on a movie. Stiles ended up falling asleep on the couch. When he woke up, he realized his arms were wrapped around somebody. Lydia. He figured it out without opening his eyes when he heard her sigh. He felt her begin to stir and loosened his grip on her in case she needed to get up.

He finally opened one eye and saw her sitting up and looking down at him.

"Were you sleepwalking again?" He asked her.

She shook her head. "I woke up and you weren't there. I tried to go back to sleep, but I couldn't and you never came back, so I came to look for you."

Stiles smiled sleepily and looked down at his hand  that was lightly playing with hers.

Heavy footsteps coming down the stairs abruptly pulled them from their thoughts.

"What are you doing? Why aren't you guys dressed?" Scott asked as he appeared in front of them fully clothed.

"Shit, what time is it?" Lydia asked as she searched for a clock.

"Time to leave." Scott answered. As Stiles struggled to sit up, Scott added, "I spoke to Deaton. Mentioned we may need to help you guys remember something and suggested hypnosis. He said to come by after school."

Stiles groaned. "Would it be so bad if we _skipped_ school?"

Lydia huffed and stood up. "We are _not_ skipping school."

* * *

 

"We should have skipped school." Lydia groaned from the floor of the bathroom. As soon as they walked into the school a powerful wave of nausea had washed over her and she'd barely made it to the bathroom in time. Stiles followed her in to hold her hair back.

"I don't want to say 'I told you so….'

"Then don't." Lydia groaned and leaned back against the stall. "You know…you probably shouldn't be in here. If a teacher caught you in here-"

"I don't care." She smiled up at him, and they heard the door open.

"Lydia?" Kira whispered.

"She's in here." Stiles said and peeked his head out of the stall.

Kira gave a relieved sigh, and went over to them. "Scott said you were in the bathroom, but he didn't tell me which one... so this is the third one I've checked." She was digging around in her purse and finally found what she was looking for. "I brought you gum." She held out three packs. "I wasn't sure which one was going to be better, so I've got minty, fruity, and bubble gumm-y."

"Awe Kira… thank you." She looked at the packs of gum and pointed. "I'll take minty."

Kira gave her a piece, and took a deep breath. "You should also know that your mom is looking for you."

Lydia groaned as she popped the gum in her mouth.

"I was hoping she wouldn't be working this week."

"I don't think she is…" Kira said slowly, "She's just here for you."

Lydia mumbled a curse under her breath, and Stiles stifled a laugh.

"I can't do this today."

"You're going to have to tell her eventually." Stiles reasoned.

"Yeah, but I wanted _eventually_ to be after I found out more information. She's going to ask for details and I don't have any to give her."

"Tell her it's mine." He suggested without blinking.

Lydia's head whipped toward him "What?"

"I mean... you don't have to tell her that there was anything supernatural involved in it. Just tell her we hooked up and accidents happen." He shrugged.

"Stiles," Lydia began slowly. "My mother hates you. You know this."

"Yeah, but so what?"

Lydia shook her head. "I'm not going to pull you into my drama-"

"Lydia," Stiles grabbed her hands in his. She looked down at them before looking back at his face. "I already told you that I would be there for you no matter what. I'm 10 feet deep in the drama already, and telling your mother you're pregnant with my kid is not a far stretch."

Lydia took a deep breath. "Okay...maybe that's what I'll tell her... but...I don't want to tell her today."

"Okay," Stiles nodded. "So then what do you suggest we do?"

"Let's leave. Let's go see Deaton right now. Maybe we can get some answers, and then I can tell her what really happened. Or a version of it at least."

"I'll help you sneak out." Kira, who they had forgotten was standing there the entire time, piped up. She helped keep Ms. Martin distracted long enough for Lydia and Stiles to get out to the parking lot.

As they were walking toward jeep, the older woman's unmistakable voice was heard yelling across the concrete.

"Lydia! Stiles! Get back here!"

The two teens shared a look, before Stiles whispered. "Run." And they took off toward the blue jeep. Stiles pulled out of the parking spot quickly and peeled out of the parking lot. Once they were on the road, Lydia started laughing.

"What?" Stiles chuckled, as the laughter became infectious.

"Did you see her face? Oh my God..." Lydia could barely contain her giggles. "She was so pissed."

Stiles began to laugh too. "I'm pretty sure there was steam coming out of her ears."

It took several minutes of laughter before they were finally able to stop and catch their breaths.

"Wow..." Lydia said after her breathing began normal again. "I can't remember the last time I laughed like that." A smiled stayed etched on her face.

"It's definitely been awhile." Stiles agreed. Lydia kept her gaze in his direction as he looked back and forth from her to the road. "What?" He finally asked her.

"It was with you." She whispered.

"What was with me?"

"The last time I laughed like that." His hand was resting in his lap and Lydia reached over to lace her fingers with his. "I don't remember what it was about, but I always laugh my hardest when I'm with you." Stiles looked down at their entwined hands and lifted them up to kiss the back of hers. Lydia bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from blushing.

The rest of the ride was in a comfortable silence, their hands never separating.

* * *

 

"Oh!" Deaton was surprised when Lydia and Stiles walked into the clinic. "I wasn't expecting you until this afternoon."

Lydia took a deep breath. "I just need answers."

Deaton nodded. "Flip the sign." Stiles did what the vet had asked and the two of them went to the exam room. Dr. Deaton grabbed the small table a couple of chairs from the waiting room and brought them in, setting them up next to the metal slab. He pulled a candle out of a cabinet and set it on the small table he'd brought in.

"Okay, who's going first?"

Stiles looked over at Lydia, who seemed like she was a little nervous. "I will." He volunteered.

"Alright, have a seat." Stiles did as he was told. "What is it that you're trying to remember?"

Stiles explained the bullet wound and Deaton began to lead him into the hypnosis.

"Think about getting shot." Deaton said softly. "Think about the way the bullet felt as it entered your abdomen." Lydia was the one biting her thumbnail and cringing as Deaton spoke. "What do you see?" The doctor asked.

"Nothing." Stiles said evenly. "It's blank. It's like...it never happened." Deaton tried a different approach, but half an hour later, and there was still nothing, so he brought him back out.

"I don't understand." Deaton said. "Hypnosis is used to bring out repressed memories. You should have remembered _something_. I don't know why you didn't." Stiles and Deaton both looked to Lydia. "Do you want to try?"

Lydia took a deep breath and nodded slowly before trading spots with Stiles. Lydia explained to Deaton what she needed to remember and while he was a little taken aback, he still nodded- very professionally- and began to lead her under.

When Lydia woke up, she was on her back, and Stiles was breathing a sigh of relief as blood trickled out of his ear.

"What happened?" She whispered.

"As soon as you were under you stopped responding to Deaton." Stiles told her as he helped her sit up. "You were shaking and then you screamed and passed out."

"It was almost like you had the complete opposite reaction that Stiles did. Where he saw nothing, it was like you saw everything. Like you were overloaded with information."

"Do you remember anything?" Stiles asked her.

As Deaton explained, she remembered seeing flashes of different situations. She couldn't remember any specifics, but one face stuck out in her mind. She nodded in answer to Stiles's question and looked up him at him. "You." She whispered. "I just remember you."


	17. Letters and Heart to Hearts

"Well what does that mean?" Stiles looked from Lydia, back to Deaton. Deaton shrugged and shook his head. Stiles looked back to Lydia who was rubbing her temples. "What was I doing?"

Lydia shook her head. "I don't remember. I just remember your face."

Stiles looked away again. "Well...you had Deaton hypnotize you so that you could remember how you got pregnant so does that mean that you and I-"

"I don't know, Stiles!" Lydia snapped, and Stiles jerked back slightly.

"Sorry." He mumbled after a moment of stunned silence.

Lydia took a deep breath. "It's fine." She stood up (maybe too quickly) and began to sway on her feet. Stiles reached his arms out to steady her. Once she found her footing again, she jerked away from him and stumbled, catching herself on the counter.

"Lydia, maybe you should sit down." Deaton suggested. "I think you may have hit your head on the floor. I should make sure you don't have a concussion."

Lydia looked around the room slowly.

"What's wrong?" Stiles asked her carefully.

"I don't know...It's like...I feel like things happened in here...things that never happened before."

"Like a dream?" Deaton questioned.

"Half of it feels like a dream...the other half is like-" She paused and looked at Stiles quizzically. "A nightmare."

"What?" he asked. "Why did you give me that look?"

"I don't know...I just...I feel like you said something like that before."

Stiles shrugged. "Maybe...it sounds like something I would say."

She shook her head. "Never mind." She pushed herself away from the counter. "I'm fine. Really."

Stiles's phone began to buzz and after a moment of staring at Lydia with uncertainty, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. "It's from Chris."

"Argent?" Lydia asked.

"What other Chris do we know?"

Lydia ignored the snark in his voice. "What does he want?"

Stiles stared at the phone for a long time. "He wants us to come over to the house. He says it's about Allison."

"Us as in the pack or..."

Stiles looked up and met her eyes. "Just me and you."

* * *

"Are you going to knock on the door or are you just going to stand there?" Lydia grumbled as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"I'm going to knock." He said, then nodded to himself in reassurance.

"Okay, then do it."

"I can't."

"well why not?"

"I just..." He took a step back away from the door. "Why do you think he just wanted us?"

"I don't know. But do you know who does?"

"Who?!" His head jerked toward her, hopeful.

"Argent." She stated bluntly. Stiles rolled his eyes, and Lydia continued, "So, if we just knock on the door then maybe-"

"What if she's dead."

Lydia froze a moment, a flash...a memory...popped into her thoughts.

" _Allison!" She screamed, her voice echoing in the tunnels, before collapsing onto Stiles's shoulder._

As quickly as it had come, it was gone. Lydia quickly shook herself out of the thought. "She's not."

"What makes you so sure?" Stiles asked.

"Because I'm a banshee, Stiles. I would feel it. I would know." Stiles nodded slowly. "So, let's just knoc-"

Suddenly, the door swung open and Argent quirked an eyebrow at them. "I was wondering how long the two of you were just going to stand there. I finally got tired of waiting. Come on in." He smiled and two teens exchanged looks before following him inside the house.

"See," Lydia whispered to Stiles. "He's smiling. That means that nothing bad happened."

"Have a seat." Argent told them.

Lydia looked around the room as she did as she was told. A picture, caught her eye. Two men and a little boy. Lydia had seen it a million times, but it was as if she was seeing it for the first time.

"Uh, who's that in the picture?" Lydia pointed.

Argent looked over to see what she was talking about. "Oh, that's me, my dad, and my uncle, Alexander. I think you may have met him at Kate's funeral."

"Why did you want us to come here?" Stiles asked before Lydia had a chance to respond.

Argent nodded and picked up two envelopes off of a desk. "These came in the mail today." He passed them over. One was addressed to Stiles and the other to Lydia. "There was one for me too. There's no return address on either of them, but it's Allison's handwriting." Stiles held the envelope in his hand and ran his fingers along his name.

"So this is what you wanted?" Stiles asked, "Just to give us these envelopes."

He nodded. "Her letter to me made it very clear she wanted the two of you to get these. I haven't opened them. I don't know what they say."

"Thanks." Stiles mumbled then stood quickly and walked out of the room, leaving Lydia and Argent staring at each other. A moment later, they heard the front door slam and Lydia jumped.

"I'm so sorry." She apologized for him.

Argent waved a hand in front of his face. "It's fine."

"You know, they broke up." Lydia didn't know why she said it. Maybe it was the awkwardness that Stiles left in his wake.

Argent nodded. "I did. She told me." He cleared his throat. "She also said that she accused you and him of…'He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. "She told me that she didn't mean it." He shrugged. "Maybe that's what your letter says."

"Maybe." She looked over at the picture of the Argent men again and bit her lip. "Chris…can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

Lydia looked down at her hands. "When Allison told you she was pregnant…what did you think?"

Argent's eyes widened, clearly not expecting this question. "Well, I... I was disappointed… not necessarily _in_ her, but _for_ her. For the decision she had to make to raise her child or not… and no matter what, I knew it wasn't an easy decision to make. Am I happy in the way this all turned out for her? No...but I love Nic and he's definitely made my life better." Lydia nodded slowly. "Why do you ask?" The strawberry blonde let out a sob, and quickly tried to cover her mouth, but it was as if that one sob had opened a floodgate. "Lydia? What's wrong?" It was then that Argent realized the banshee had been rubbing her stomach throughout their conversation. The older man sighed. "Lydia…are you…"

"I haven't told my mom yet. I don't know what to say." She wiped her eyes and sniffed. "It's impossible, but yet somehow it happened. I don't know how to explain it myself, much less how to explain it to her." She took a shaky breath. "She's going to think that I was careless..and maybe I was...but I just don't remember. I don't remember any of it."

Argent reached out and put a hand on her shoulder and Lydia buried her head into his chest.

* * *

Stiles was still staring at his unopened envelope when Lydia finally came out to the jeep.

"It was rude of you to leave like that." She told him bluntly as she climbed into the vehicle.

Stiles shook his head. "I had to get out of there... I thought I was going to have a panic attack." He looked over to Lydia and saw how puffy her eyes looked. "Have you been crying?"

She sighed. "The minute you left I started pouring my heart out to Argent for some stupid reason." Lydia shrugged. "I blame you."

Stiles let out a small laugh. "I'll take it." He looked over to her envelope that was still in her hand. "Have you opened yours yet?"

Lydia shook her head. "No. Not yet. What about you?"

He shook his head. "What could she possibly have to say?"

"I don't know...but it was obviously important to her. She only sent three letters. Maybe yours isn't from her? Maybe it's from Dominic. I mean...you were his best friend."

He smiled and nodded once. "Yes I was."

"So maybe it's his...or maybe she sent us some message that we have to decode to figure out some big bad, or maybe-"

"She didn't send Isaac one."

"What?"

"She and Isaac were more together the past few months than we were. But I got a letter and he didn't."

"Who says he didn't get a letter?" Lydia argued. "Maybe she's been communicating with him this whole time anyway."

Stiles scoffed. "That would be like him...wouldn't it?" He sighed and finally started the jeep.

"My mom is officially the only one who doesn't know about the baby."

"Not the _only_ one."

Lydia rolled her eyes. "The only one that's here and that matters." She took a deep breath. "It's just... every time I think about how that conversation would go...I just don't know what to say. I'm starting to think that waiting until Christmas isn't such a bad idea."

"With as many people who know...you know something is bound to come up sooner or later. You need to tell her before somebody else does."

"How? She's not going to believe the truth."

"Then lie." Lydia raised her eyebrow at him. "Or...half lie... tell the truth, but about the first time. She doesn't know about that, right?"

Lydia shook her head. "Nobody knew." She sighed. "I guess I kept that a secret because I was most worried about telling you. But I knew how it happened...I mean... I remember _very clearly_ how it happened." Her eyes flicked momentarily to the back seat. "It wasn't some big mystery it was just a...a fuck up. We made a mistake and I was prepared to take responsibility for it. This time is different though. I'm telling everyone, hoping I'll get answers. I just want someone to shed some light on what happened. I want someone to tell me how they saw me walk into a convenience store a month ago, sloppy drunk, hanging off of some guy."

"No you don't." He argued.

"Well, it wouldn't be ideal, but I'd rather that than be in this perpetual state of confusion, because I'm a miracle away from calling the Vatican."

Stiles let out a laugh. "Well, I told you before, but I'll be with you when you tell your mom if you want me there."

Lydia smiled and mumbled. "Thanks." They were quiet for a few moments before she spoke again. "Does Argent's uncle seem familiar to you?"

Stile shrugged, "Well, like Argent said, we met him at Kate's funeral... and I've seen that picture a thousand times."

"I have too, but today, I finally just _really_ saw it, and I feel like I know him from somewhere...and not like a younger version of the old man we met...I feel like I've seen him before as a younger guy."

"Maybe it's a banshee thing."

She shook her head. "It doesn't feel like that though. It's like it's right there on the tip of my tongue, but I can't think of it."

"I'm sure it'll come to you."

"Yeah...maybe."


	18. Arguments and I Love You's

Lydia?" Stiles asked. "Are we going to go inside or…" They were sitting in front of Lydia's house. They had been for about ten minutes at this point. On the way back to Stiles's place, Lydia suddenly decided that she needed to talk to her mom right away and Stiles redirected his jeep.

"Give me a minute."

"I've given you ten…look…you don't have to do this today."

"No…if I don't do it now…I don't know when I will." Stiles nodded. "I just… need to figure out what I'm going to say." They were both silent for several minutes, before Lydia finally said, "You _do_ realize it was only a few hours ago that we were running away from her in a school parking lot. Right?"

"Meaning she's going to be pissed?"

"Meaning she's going to be pissed." She affirmed, then took a deep breath. "Maybe today isn't a good day to do this...I've got it! I'll take a note from Allison and write her a letter."

"And then just hand it to her and walk away?"

"No…then I'll mail it…and maybe it'll get lost... so.. when I come back at Christmas break with a baby and she didn't know about it, it won't be entirely my fault. We can blame the United States Postal Service."

Stiles stifled a laugh. "Lyd-"

"I know." She grumbled and reached for the door handle. Stiles raised his eyebrows, slightly shocked she actually made that much of a move. He climbed out of the jeep with her and they even made it inside the house. At the sound of the door closing, Lydia seemed to realize suddenly where she was and turned to run back outside.

Stiles quickly side-stepped in front of her and Natalie ran into the room. "Lydia!" Lydia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Hey mom." She replied and turned to face her mother. Natalie's face was a mixture of anger and relief.

"Where the hell have you…I mean…what the hell have…" She sighed, "Lydia…what's going on?"

The banshee reached for Stiles's hand and he held it with reassurance. "Mom…we need to talk."

Natalie clenched her jaw, swallowed, then nodded-motioning them toward the sitting room.

"Just so we're clear," Lydia began. "This has been a really long day for me, and I just want to get everything out before you say anything."

Her mother nodded reluctantly. "Okay."

Lydia gripped Stiles's hand tighter, and he began to rub his thumb soothingly on the back of her hand.

She took a deep breath and finally said, "I was debating on telling you the truth or not. Because the truth is.. there's a lot of supernatural shit happening right now, "Natalie rolled her eyes at this, "And I know you don't believe in that."

"You're right."

"Mom." Lydia warned.

"Sorry. Continue."

Lydia sighed. "But…I decided that there's no point in lying to you because it doesn't matter how it happened, the point is…it happened…it's _happening_ …and we're just going to have to deal with it, whether you believe me or not." Lydia was quiet for a moment, waiting to see if her mom was going to try to reply. When she didn't, Lydia continued, "I've been staying at the sheriff's house." Natalie shrugged (she figured that's where her daughter had been spending her nights.) "That's why I haven't been home." Lydia's shoulders slumped, slowly losing courage. Stiles gave her hand a squeeze, and she took a deep breath before blurting. "I'm pregnant." Like ripping off a Bandaid.

Natalie froze, a blank expression on her face, as Lydia looked down and took a deep breath. "I don't know how it happened, and I'm not 100% sure who the father is. Although," Lydia stole a glance at Stiles, "There's a theory."

Stiles's breath caught in his throat for a moment. This was the first time Lydia was remotely admitting there was a possibility the baby belonged to him. Every other time, it had been him saying it, and she had been reluctant to agree.

"I've been sleep-walking, losing time, forgetting things…" She continued, never making eye contact. "So has Stiles... and it all started the night we went to Allison's house the week you were out of town. We ended up at the nemeton…the big tree stump in the woods-"

"The one that doesn't exist." Natalie asserted. Lydia bit her lip in an effort to stop herself from crying in anger. "You know what? I think I've heard enough." Natalie stood. "Stiles, go home. I need to talk to my daughter."

Lydia's head popped up and she and Stiles both rose to their feet. "No, Mom!" She stared her mother directly in the eye. "Whatever you need to say to me, you can say to Stiles too."

"Well, I can't talk to Stiles about his options as a pregnant, unwed teenager."

"I may not be pregnant, but I am unwed and a teenager."

"Not helping," Lydia mumbled and took a deep breath as she turned back to her mother. "And, I don't need to talk about my options, Mom. I know what I'm going to do."

"If you think that raising it is an option-"

"It is! As far as I'm concerned it's the _only_ option!"

"What about college? You're just going to give up your dreams to raise a baby? Jesus Christ, Lydia! You just told me that you don't know who the father is!"

"That doesn't matter!" Lydia's hand went to her stomach. "And I'm not giving up on anything. God, Mom...This baby is important. I know it. I can _feel_ it. And I don't mean just to me. Maybe she'll cure cancer or be a kick-ass lawyer that fights for basic human rights. And if you don't want to be apart of that, then maybe I don't want you to be apart of it."

"Lydia..." Stiles said her name softly when he saw the surprise on her mother's face.

"No," She she shook her head at him and continued to stare at her mother. "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you. Let's go, Stiles."

Stiles looked back and forth between the two Martin women as Lydia grabbed his hand to pull him away. "But-" He tried.

"Lydia!" Natalie called to her daughter, her voice breaking. The strawberry-blonde, ignored her mother and continued to lead Stiles out to the Jeep.

He stood at the driver's side door with his hand on the lever and looked back at Ms. Martin on her porch. He frowned, mouthing 'I'm sorry.' Her gaze turned icy and she turned around and slammed the front door as she went back inside. Stiles jumped slightly at the abrasiveness, then finally climbed into the jeep and sat for a moment in silence.

"Your mom..." He began.

"Drive." Lydia said shortly.

"But-"

"Just. Drive."

Stiles took a deep breath and did as he was told. Neither of them said anything until they made it back to his house, and when they did, Lydia was the first one out. Stiles was several feet behind her and hadn't quite made it inside when he heard Kira.

"Hey Lydi-..uh..okay..."

Once he was in, Scott and Kira both turned to him. "What's wrong with her?" Scott asked, motioning toward the top of the stairs where Lydia had just disappeared into Stiles's room.

Stiles sighed as he closed the door. "We just got back from her house and she told her mom."

"I take it that it didn't go well..." Kira's face wrinkled in concern.

Stiles shrugged. "Well, it could have gone better. That's for sure."

"Well, Kira and I are headed to _Tate's_ to get some milkshakes. Did you guys want to come?"

Stiles shrugged. "I don't know if she'll be up for it," He began as he made his way toward the stairs. "You guys go ahead and I'll text you later if we decide to join." Scott nodded and Stiles continued up the stairs. His door was closed, so he gave a courtesy knock before opening it.

Lydia was sitting at the foot of the bed, shoulders shaking with sobs.

"Hey..." He said soothingly as he closed the door behind him.

"What did I do?" She sobbed and Stiles sat down next to her.

"You didn't do anything." He told her as he wrapped his arm around her.

"Yes I did...God...I was so worried about her kicking me out and I just went and did it for her." She sniffed as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Look..." He started after a moment of silence, and Lydia lifted her head to look him in the eyes. "You are the strongest and smartest woman I know, and I know you can do anything you put your mind to...and if your mom still can't see that after eighteen years then maybe you did the right thing. The last thing you need is people putting you down and saying you can't do it, because I know you can." Her eyes filled with tears again, and a look of concern passed over his face. "What? What did I do?"

"Nothing...that was just really sweet."

His shoulders loosened and he cracked a small smile. "Oh," He sighed in relief.

Lydia let out a giggle, and Stiles reached his hand to her face and wiped a stray tear with his thumb. They both froze for a moment. There had been that whole conversation a few days ago about taking things slow and something about this moment felt like it was crossing that undefined line.

"I love you." Lydia whispered.

He replied by crashing his lips into hers.


	19. New News and Old Letters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to re-read chapters 33-38 of _It's Just a Matter of Time_ when writing this chapter, so I wouldn't blame you if you wanted/needed to do the same.

Lydia's head rested on Stiles's bare chest as she traced patterns on his stomach. The rhythmic rise and fall from his breathing was beginning to lull her to sleep and her eyes drifted closed.

"She?"

Lydia's eyes popped open when she heard Stiles's voice. "What?" Her voice was a little groggy.

"You said maybe _she_ 'll cure cancer."

Lydia's forehead crinkled in confusion. "What?" She asked again.

"When you were talking to your mom you referred to the baby as a 'she'."

"Oh…" She said slowly as she tried to remember the conversation she'd had with her mom. "I did?"

"Yeah…"

"Well…I don't _know_ obviously…We won't find out for another few months…It's just… I hate calling the baby an 'it'. And I've just always pictured myself with a daughter."

"Really?" Stiles asked.

"Yeah." Lydia smiled at the thought. Braiding her little girl's hair while Stiles made chocolate chip pancakes in the kitchen. She suddenly felt a tear slip down her cheek and quickly sat up.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked her as he sat up from his reclined position on the bed.

She wiped the tear away and looked down at her wet fingers. "I'm crying." She sounded confused.

"I see that. That's why I asked if you were okay."

Lydia looked back at Stiles. "I don't know why I'm crying."

"Well, are you happy?"

Lydia shook her head. "No…I feel sad."

"Oh…" He looked down.

"Not about us!" She told him quickly. "Or about the baby or anything…I just… I think I had a memory that made me upset…but I can't remember what it was now." She bit her lip as she tried to recall what had made her feel that way. "I think it had something to do with chocolate chip pancakes?" Another tear slipped down her cheek as she whispered, "You made her chocolate chip pancakes."

"What? Who?"

"I don't know." She sobbed, then threw her legs off the bed "God! Why can't I stop crying!"

"Lyd, calm down. You're pregnant! It's okay to be emotional."

"No, it's not! It's not okay when I have no idea why. I mean…cute puppies? Okay… I feel fat? Fine…Getting to that one part of Youtube with the military homecomings…I mean…that gets me even when it's not an emotional time, but _chocolate chip pancakes_? I'm not even sure if I've ever had chocolate chip pancakes!"

Stiles sat quietly for a moment before saying, "Well…maybe that's why you're sad. I mean… chocolate chip pancakes are-" Lydia shot him a glare. "….or not." Lydia took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. "Are you okay?" He asked her again once her sobs had subsided.

She nodded. "Yeah…I'm okay."

"Well, Scott and Kira went to _Tate's_ and he asked if we wanted to join them. I mean...they're probably done by now, but maybe they'll wait for us. We can go get a milkshake?"

Lydia nodded. "I'd like that."

* * *

Scott's phone chimed and he picked it up. "Oh, hey...Stiles and Lydia are coming."

"That's good!" Kira smiled. "I feel like all they do is spend time with each other now...which...is sort of like how it was when I first met you guys."

"Huh...it makes you wonder then."

"What do you mean?"

"Like...what are they doing with each other the past couple of weeks, since it's a lot like summer before junior year."

Kira shook her head. "I don't get it. They were just best friends...and now they're best friends again."

Scott narrowed his eyes at her in confusion. "They were hooking up summer of junior year."

"What?!" For a moment the entire diner got completely silent, and the kitsune blushed and apologized to the other patrons. More quietly this time she asked him again, "What?"

"Why are you acting so shocked? This is old news."

"Not to me! To me, this is new news!"

"Oh...well...what part of that was new? Because the 'when' may have been found out pretty recently. But the fact they had sex.. I mean... you knew that right? Because I could have sworn you were right next to me when we found out."

"I don't remember this at all. Did they sit us down and tell us?"

"No...they were fighting and she told him..."Scott paused for a moment, then lowered his voice. "Basically, she called him a man whore...then he...sort of called her a slut...and she kind of said he wasn't good in bed...then he commented on how... _agreeable_ she was when they were together...and that was when I stopped listening."

Kira squeezed her eyes shut. "That's an image I didn't want in my head. Also...all you had to do was say 'they were fighting' and then just stop talking... because that explains everything. I always tune out their fights. I heard my name come up once and I don't know the context, but that's when I decided it wasn't worth it to listen in and get caught up in the drama."

"Can I get you anything else?" Their waitress came back to the table.

"Actually, the friends that I told you about just said they were on their way, so if you could bring us a couple of menus for them, that would be great." Scott smiled.

"Oh..okay." She said it with a false smile and Scott heard her sigh as she walked away. That was when he realized how long he and Kira had been there and promised himself to leave her a nice tip.

* * *

When Stiles and Lydia walked into the diner about 15 minutes later, his hand rested on the small of her back. They quickly found Scott and Kira and took a seat at their booth.

"I'm glad you came!" Kira told Lydia as she gave her a side hug when the banshee sat down in the booth next to her. Stiles sat next to Scott, who looked back and forth between the two newcomers.

"Me too." Lydia smiled.

Stiles picked up the menus that were sitting on the table and handed one to Lydia.

"Hi, guys. I'm Stacey," the waitress began when she came back to the table. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"I think I want a glass of Liza's Homemade Lemonade." Stiles told her.

Lydia gasped a memory formed in front of her. She looked toward the young waitress, and instead, saw a woman in her mid-forties.

" _My name's Liza, if you need anything."_ Lydia blinked. _"You can stay here, until you can get on your feet. I won't even make you pay if you help out around here. I'm always looking for extra cooks and waitresses."_

"Lydia?" Stiles said her name and touched her hand. She turned to look at him, then looked down at their hands.

_"I think we messed everything up."_ She heard herself say. _"We were their_ friends, _Stiles."_

_"Come with me, I'll show you where you'll be staying."_ Liza had said. Lydia could see her clearly in her mind. She stood and followed the memory.

"Lydia? Where are you going?" Stiles asked, but Lydia ignored him and kept walking. She barely heard him apologize to Stacey and say he would be right back, knowing he was following her.

"You can't go that way!" Lydia heard Stacey call as she headed toward an employee only area. She passed the break room and walked through a door that led outside where a set of metal stairs led to the second floor. Lydia walked up the stairs, hearing Stiles just behind her. She got to the top and reached for the door and was met with resistance.

"It's locked."

"Of course it's locked you idiot!" Stacey almost screeched. "God...I feel like I'm supposed to call the cops."

"That's not necessary." Stiles told her, biting his tongue as to not make a comment about her calling Lydia an idiot. "My father's the sheriff." He turned back to the strawberry blonde, who was searching frantically for a way to get into the door. "Lydia, what's wrong?"

"I can't get in!"

"Lydia!" Scott called.

Stacey turned around to see that Scott and Kira had followed her out. "Oh my God." she groaned as she held her head. "I should probably call my boss at least..."

"No," Kira told her. "Look, don't worry, you're going to get a very nice tip for all of this."

"Scott," Lydia pleaded. "Break it."

"Is there a body?" He asked as he made his way up to Lydia, passing Stiles who was halfway there.

"A body!" Stacey shrieked. "I really think I should call the police-"

"Stacey!" Stiles snapped. "Just shut up, okay?"

"I don't know." Lydia answered Scott's question. "I...I don't think so, but I feel like it's something important."

Scott nodded and grabbed the handle, turning it until he felt the lock release. Lydia raced past him and every one else followed until they all stood in the small hallway.

_"There are two apartments up here. The one on the left belonged to my brother, the one on the right was turned into an office several years back."_

Lydia went over to the door on the left, she reached for the knob, this one turning with ease.

"Lydia what are you doing?" The door swung open and they stood staring at an empty studio apartment.

"Does anyone live here?" Lydia asked.

"I don't know." Stacey was definitely freaking out. "I just started here two weeks ago. I mean... I think maybe the owner. Henry, used to live here, but that was a long time ago." Lydia took a step inside the room, and Stacey murmured worriedly,. "Oh God...I am so fired."

"It'll be fine." Kira tried to sound positive.

"Lydia?" Stiles said her name quietly. Lydia touched the table, as memories of eating there flooded her brain.

"I've been here before." She told them.

"When?"

She shook her head as she walked around the room. "I don't know." She stopped suddenly in front of a frame that hung on the wall. "Holy shit!" She whispered.

"What is it?" Stiles wondered aloud and went to stand next to her to see what she was looking at. Inside the frame was a faded scrap of paper with a hand-written note that read:

_Stiles-_ _If anyone can defy the odds, it's us!_ _\- Lydia_

Stiles took a step a back from the frame as he felt his heart drop to his stomach. "Holy shit."


	20. Memories and Headaches

"Is this the place?" Stiles asked Lydia, who was sitting in the passenger's seat.

Lydia looked at her phone then up to the house in front of them, and nodded. "Yeah. Looks like it."

"Who is this guy again?" He threw the jeep in park and and turned the ignition off.

"Henry Tate." Scott answered from the backseat. "His family has owned _Tate's_ for generations and his daughter, Kiley, is in Liam's class. He was also the last person to inhabit the apartment where that letter was found so maybe he'll know a thing or two about how it got there."

"I don't understand what we think we're going to find." Stiles shook his head. "I mean...do we think that was actually us? Wouldn't it make more sense that it was just another Stiles and Lydia?"

"But," Lydia spoke up. "That was my handwriting."

"So what's your explanation, then? That we're some kind of crazy ass anomaly that regenerates every 50 years, destined to meet until we finally figure out what's happening and solve some sort of earth-altering mission and can finally die knowing we've succeeded in our quest?"

Lydia quirked an eyebrow. "I was actually thinking that time travel had something to do with it...but I guess yours makes sense too."

Stiles let out a laugh. "I can't believe we live in a world where either of those concepts make any sense at all."

Lydia stopped as a memory floated by. _"..._ _I never thought that I'd live in a world where the sentence 'maybe you remembered the future' would actually make sense ."_ Stiles had said it, and it felt like they were in the apartment above _Tate's_ when he did.

"Lydia?" Stiles said her name and she snapped out of whatever daze she was in. "You okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine."

Stiles sighed. "Alright, well then let's get this over with."

The three of them climbed out of the jeep and went to the door. They stood there for several minutes after knocking and nobody was coming to the door.

"I don't think anyone is here." Lydia commented.

"Either that or they just really don't like answering the door." Scott shrugged.

"Then I guess we should just leave." Stiles mirrored his brother's movement.

"Can I help you?"

The three teens looked toward the sidewalk where a teenage girl was standing, looking like she had just come back from a run. She held an iPod in her hand removed the earbuds from her ears.

"Kiley...right?" Scott asked.

The girl nodded. "Yeah..."She narrowed her eyes as she studied the people on her porch. "Aren't you two on the lacrosse team?"

"Yeah...we're the co-captains." Stiles answered.

"Is your dad home?" Lydia questioned.

She shook her head as she walked toward the front door. "He and my mom went out of town for the weekend. It's their 25th anniversary."

" _Mazel Tov._ " Stiles muttered under his breath.

Lydia shot him a look before turning back to Kiley. "How much do you know about the apartment above your family's diner?"

"Um... I guess it depends on what you want to know. Did you want to come inside?"

"Yeah," Scott answered for the group. "That'd be great."

Kiley unlocked the door, and the three pack members followed her in.

"So, "Kiley began. "How do you guys know about the apartment?"

"Um..." The three of them exchanged looks.

"Well..." Stiles said slowly. "That's sort of a long story. Basically, we were in there last night."

Kiley stopped and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean you were in there last night?"

"You see..." Stiles started. "Lydia..." He gestured to the banshee, "...is narcoleptic...and she sleepwalks...so she fell asleep in the middle of dinner and we followed her up the stairs and into the apartment."

"But the back door always stays locked."

"It was broken." Scott shrugged.

"What do you know about the note on the wall?" Lydia tried to get down to it.

"Note?"

Lydia continued, "It's framed. A small piece of paper that says 'Stiles-If anyone can defy the odds it's us- Lydia'"

"Oh that one! Well... I don't know how true it is...it's one of those family tales that gets passed down. Basically it started with my Great... Great...there may be three 'great's...aunt, Liza."

_"My name's Liza, if you need anything."_ Lydia felt a jolt as the memory came back to her.

"The story goes, that she was struggling to make ends meet. Her brother, my great...well however many greats, grandfather, had just passed away and she had taken over the diner, and with it she had accrued a ton of debt that her brother had been keeping from her. She needed more help in the diner, but she could barely afford to pay the people who were already working there. She had been asked by the town to make food for the fall festival which she knew would be good for the diner, but there was no way that she could pull it off with her staff. She was going to have to tell them that they would have to find somebody else to make the food. She had plans to meet with the town council one afternoon and tell them she couldn't do it...but a few hours before the meeting, a young couple came into the diner. They had nowhere to go so Aunt Liza offered them the apartment where her brother had lived."

_"I couldn't help over hearing that you need a place to stay?"_ Lydia heard the woman's voice in her head again. _"My brother used to own this diner, but he passed away about a month ago."_ Then again, " _He actually lived in the apartment above the diner."_

"They didn't have any money and she told them that they could live there rent free, as long as they helped her out."

_"You can stay here, until you can get on your feet. I won't even make you pay if you help out around here. I'm always looking for extra cooks and waitresses."_

"She didn't know what two extra people could do to help, but at the meeting, instead of telling the council she couldn't cater, they talked about what she should bring. The one thing I know for sure, is that if you go back at look at the books, the next two weeks were the most lucrative two weeks the diner had seen since it's opening five years earlier. On the day of the fall festival, the young couple told her that they had found a place and would be moving away.

_"I'm so happy that you found a place of your own. I'm just sad that it's not in Beacon Hills."_ Lydia closed her eyes as her head began to hurt. _"You're going to stay for the fall festival, right? I can't do it without you two!"_

"They stayed through the festival and they went back to the apartment. The next morning, Liza went back to the apartment and she said it was as if no one was ever there. It looked exactly the same as it had before and for a moment she thought she had dreamed the whole thing. Except, there was a letter on the ground. It looked like it may have fallen off the table. It was written by the girl to her husband. It was the only solid proof Liza had that the couple actually existed. The letter said 'if anyone can defy the odds it's us' and they did. They defied the odds for the diner. They turned it around,"

Lydia felt herself well up with emotion as she another memory, came to her. This time it was her voice that she heard. _"We turned it around for her. And while that makes me feel amazing, it also scares me to death, because... what else have we fucked up?"_ Then there was Stiles clear as day, _"But... how could saving a diner be bad?"_

"And then they left and the diner hasn't had to worry about closing its doors since. Aunt Liza used to call them her guardian angels...so I'm told...I never actually met her. Anyway...she framed the letter and put it in the apartment as a reminder."

Lydia felt nothing but pride and love...and confusion.

Stiles heard a sniff next to him and turned to look at her. "Lyds, you okay?"

"Hormones." She mumbled as she wiped her eyes. "Sorry."

"Stiles and Lydia..."Kiley said thoughtfully. "Hey...aren't those your names?"

* * *

"So, what did we learn?" Scott asked the other two once they were back in the jeep.

"That _Tate's_ almost closed 60 years ago, but didn't?" Stiles shrugged.

"That somehow you and I _lived_ 60 years ago." Lydia said softly.

"Do you know how crazy that sounds?" Stiles asked her as he shook his head.

"I'm aware." She told him and rubbed her forehead.

"Are you okay?"

"I have a headache." A moment later, she slowly sat up. "Stiles, we need to go to the hospital."

"Are you okay? Is the baby-" He stepped harder on the gas.

"We're fine." She assured him. "I think something else is wrong."

Scott's phone suddenly began to ring. "It's Liam." He said before quickly answering it. Stiles had already turned toward Beacon Hills Memorial. "Okay," He was telling the young beta. "Call Deaton. We're on our way."

"What's going on?" Stiles asked him.

"He was eating lunch with his dad, when Dr. Geyer was paged. One of the other doctors just dropped dead. Perfectly healthy, no prior conditions...just like-"

"Mrs. Finch." Lydia finished for him.

They parked as quickly as they could when they finally got to the hospital. As the three ran in, Liam met them at the door.

"They're keeping his body quarantined." Liam told them. "They've already called the CDC."

"Do they think he was poisoned?" Stiles asked.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "I think they're just worried about whatever it is, spreading."

"Well, if it's the same thing that killed Mrs. Finch, then they probably don't have anything to worry about." Scott said.

"Well, that's sort of the thing...it was Mrs. Finch's husband."

"Okay," The boys head their father's voice. "Who do I need to talk to first?" They turned around, and immediately saw that he hadn't come alone.

"Mom!" Scott and Stiles both yelled at the same time.

Melissa smiled and the three of them ran toward each other. "My boys!"

"When did you get home?" Stiles asked her.

"My plane landed a couple of hours ago. We were wanting to surprise you guys."

"Wait, I thought you weren't supposed to be coming back for another couple of weeks." Scott felt like he was about to cry.

"I couldn't be away from my babies any longer. I called your dad as soon as I could get service. I heard that it's been quite eventful since I left and I've only been gone for two months."

"You have no idea." Stiles shook his head. Melissa looked up and saw Lydia standing in the same spot.

"I think I do." She stepped away from her sons and toward the banshee. Lydia had a moment where she thought she was going to be yelled at, just like her own mother had done. She would probably have to find another place to stay. Maybe Argent wouldn't mind her taking Allison's room. Suddenly, Melissa was wrapping her arms tightly around her, and Lydia found herself crying into the woman's shoulder. As if she knew exactly what Lydia was the thinking, Melissa whispered, "Don't worry, Sweetheart. You're always welcome in our home."


	21. Mothers and Melissas

"Holy fuck." Stiles muttered as he and Lydia pulled into his driveway.

"Is that my mom?" Lydia asked the obvious question out loud.

Scott had sent Stiles and Lydia home from the hospital. Deaton was on his way and they wouldn't be able to do anything until he was able to look at the body- which could be hours since they had to convince the CDC that there was nothing that concerned them.

"What do we do?" Stiles asked her. "We can't leave. She's already seen us. And she's just sitting on my porch."

"She's got something in her hand." Lydia noted.

"Do you want to talk to her?"

Lydia shook her head. "Not really, but I want to know why she's here."

"Do you want me to talk to her instead?"

The banshee nodded. "I'm just going to stay in here."

Stiles nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay...I can do this." He whispered a pep talk to himself, before opening his door and walking toward Natalie. He approached her slowly, and they both looked back at Lydia. She looked down, not meeting either of their gazes. After a moment, she looked up and saw her mother handing something over to Stiles before walking away and getting into her car. Once her vehicle was out of view, Lydia got out of the jeep and walked over to Stiles.

"What'd she say?"

"She asked how you were. If you thought anymore about what you were going to do-"

"What did you say?" She asked him quickly, as anger flared in her cheeks.

"I told her that nothing has changed. And she said maybe something would after reading these." He lifted the contents that Natalie had giving him.

They were envelopes from all of the schools she'd applied to.

"Did she open them?"

Stiles shook his head. "No, but come on, Lydia. You know you got in to all of them."

"What? Does she think that just because I got into some really good schools, that I can't go to classes and have a baby at the same time?"

"Of course you can. And you're not doing it alone, remember? I'm not leaving you."

Lydia nodded. "I know."

"Let's worry about one thing at a time. Which one of these awesome schools are you going to go to?"

"Well, it has to be one that you applied for too-"

"No it doesn't." He told her quickly. "We don't have to live on campus...as long as it's within an hour of another school that I applied to, we can split the difference...get a place a half hour away from both schools..." He was rambling. Stiles took a deep breath. "Pick the school you want, and I'll figure it out. Like I said... One thing at a time."

* * *

Lydia and Stiles were on the couch watching something when Melissa, Kayce and Eli came in.

"Stiles! Mommy's home!" Kayce announced when she came through the door.

"Yeah," Stiles smiled. "I know!"

"Hi, Lydia." Kayce came over and sat down next to Lydia on the couch.

"Hi, Kayce. How are you?"

"I'm good." She smiled. "Mommy said we're ordering Chinese tonight! It's my favorite."

"Mine too." Lydia told her.

"Lydia?" Melissa called from the kitchen.

"Yeah, Melissa?" Lydia turned around on the couch to see the nurse, walk back into the living room and head toward the stairs.

"I want to get your opinion on something. You mind coming to my room with me?"

"Sure." Lydia followed the woman up the stairs and into the master bedroom. She'd been in there before, but it had been at least eight years, maybe longer. At a certain point, it became weird to go into your friend's parents' bedroom.

"Have a seat." Melissa said as she sat down on the bed, after closing the door behind her, and motioned for Lydia to join her.

"Why do I have a feeling you didn't really want my opinion on anything?" Lydia chuckled nervously as she sat down next to Melissa.

"But I do! I want your opinion on how you're doing. I know we didn't get to really talk at the hospital..."

Lydia nodded slowly. "What did Sheriff Stilinski tell you?"

"He said you'd had a fight with your mom, and that you were staying with us for the time being."

"Did he tell you what the fight was about?"

"No," Melissa told her. "But," She put a comforting hand on the banshee's knee. "I had a feeling, and the moment I saw you, I knew." Lydia bit her lip. Did Melissa really know? Her worries that she was going to find herself homeless once again began to plague her thoughts until Melissa asked, "How far along are you?"

Relief flooded her body, and with it came more tears. She shook her head and began to wipe her eyes. "I'm sorry...Um...I don't know? Six...seven weeks?"

"Did Natalie kick you out?"

Lydia shrugged. "I kicked myself out. My mom...she doesn't seem to want to accept the fact that I can go to school and raise a baby. She thinks I have to choose, and she wants me to choose school... I, on the other hand, don't think I have to choose one or the other...but if I did..."Lydia sighed. "Honestly? School could wait."

"What about Aiden?"

Lydia gave her a confused look, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what does Aiden say about all of this?"

"I haven't told him?" When Lydia saw Melissa's look, something clicked. "Oh! You think...No...Aiden's not the father."

Melissa's eyes widened. "Oh! Well...if you don't mind me asking...who is?"

"Uh...well, that's an interesting story." Lydia began to explain everything to Melissa: the sleep-walking, the missing time, the hypnosis, the random flashes of memories, the letter at Tate's, and the Stiles of it all...

"Wow! Um...okay...that's..." Melissa paused as she tried to think of another word. "Wow! That's...a lot to take in."

Lydia nodded. "Believe me. I know."

"I guess you do." Melissa kept her soft expression as she cocked her head to the side. "You know... you are such a strong young woman...and I admire you so much."

Lydia gave her a watery smile. "Really? You do?"

"Absolutely, kiddo." Melissa wrapped her arms around the banshee for a hug, but then pulled back "Oh wait! Am I still allowed to call you 'kiddo' if you're going to have a kiddo of your own?"

Lydia laughed. "For as long as you want."

"Good." Melissa told her and went back in for the hug once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! So...first off, thank you much for continuing to read this series! That being said, I wanted to let you guys know that I've decided to take the month of July off from updating. Don't worry, it's not going to go anywhere, and it WILL be back in August. This break is for several reasons, and if you want to know just ask (either in the comments or find me on tumblr @eicartgeorge). (Don't worry, it's nothing serious.) In the meantime, I'm going to be working on some of the other stories I've written/am writing, so expect some updates on a few those maybe ;)


	22. Apologies and Concerns

When Lydia walked back down the stairs, she heard laughter. As she neared the bottom of the steps, she saw Stiles tickling Eli, and realized the laughter she heard was coming from the tiny boy. Kayce jumped onto Stiles's back to “save” her little brother, but Stiles only turned the tickling onto her.

  
  


Lydia smiled and folded her arms in front of her as she leaned against the wall. She couldn't believe that she ever told him that he wouldn't be a good father, or that he would believe she meant it. From the time that Kayce was born Stiles had always been so good with her, then Eli and Dominic. She knew she'd only told him to hurt him, but it couldn't have been further from the truth.

  
  


The doorbell rang, and a moment later, Melissa called, “Dinner's here!”

  
  


“Yay!” Kayce yelled before climbing off of Stiles (they'd apparently changed positions yet again during Lydia's reverie), and Stiles let Eli up and the little boy ran after his sister. Stiles finally saw Lydia standing against the wall and smiled.

  
  


“How long have you been standing there?” He asked.

  
  


She smiled, then looked down and bit her lip. “I'm sorry.”

  
  


“For what?” He asked, his eyebrows knitting together in concern as he stood slowly.

  
  


She gave him a small shrug. “For ever making you think you wouldn't be good at this.”

  
  


It was sort of vague, but he understood. “It's fine-”

  
  


“No, it's not.” She shook her head and walked over to where he stood. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his hands fell to her waist. She took a deep breath. “I don't care who the father really is...whether it's actually you or not, because...I don't want it to be anyone else.”

  
  


He smiled slowly. “Really?”

  
  


Lydia nodded. “Really.”

  
  


“Wait...does that mean you don't want to find out what happened?”

  
  


“No...I do...I just want to find out for different reasons. Mainly...why and how...not necessarily who.”

  
  


“Hey guys!” Melissa poked her head around the corner. “Food. Come on!”

  
  


* * *

  
  


  
  


Lydia walked into Stiles's room as she tried to dry her hair with a towel. She was already in pajama pants and a tank top. Stiles had taken a shower first and was sitting on his bed holding an envelope in his hand.

  
  


“What are you looking at?” Lydia asked him. He jumped slightly, not having heard her walk into the room. “Sorry.” She chuckled.

  
  


“It's fine.” He told her and held the envelope up.  _Stiles_  was scribbled onto the front.

  
  


“Allison's letter? What does it say?” She sat down next to him as she continued drying her hair.

  
  


“I still haven't read it.” He sighed, then look over at her. “Have you read yours yet?”

  
  


Lydia shook her head. “Not yet. I've got other stuff that I need to read that's probably more important...like letters from colleges telling me if I'm accepted or not.”

  
  


Stiles sighed. “Don't be silly. You know were accepted to everything you applied for. So, where do you want to go?“

  
  


Lydia shrugged as she let the towel in her hand fall to the floor. “I don't know...Before all of this happened I wanted to get as far away from California as possible. I already got a few acceptance letters from the East Coast schools.” She motioned to the stack of envelopes on the bedside table, “These are all of the in-state schools.”

  
  


Stiles recalled the conversation in the car the night of Allison's party, and how he called her selfish for wanting to move away.

  
  


“And now?” He asked her softly.

  
  


“Now?” He nodded and she continued. “Now... I don't care where I go, as long as I'm with you.”

  
  


He gave her a small smile before closing the gap between them. Her hands went to the sides of his face while one of his hands came up to cradle her head.

  
  


“Ahem!” They jumped apart and turned to see Melissa in the doorway. She took a few steps inside the room as she tried to decide what to say. “Um...well first of all...if you don't want to get caught, don't leave the door open.”

  
  


“Noted.” Stiles said with a nod.

  
  


“Secondly...I don't know how I should feel about this.” She gestured to the two of them.

  
  


“You mean us sleeping in the same bed?” Lydia asked. “Because I'm already pregnant. There's not much else that can happen.”

  
  


Melissa nodded and shrugged. “Fair enough..but um...I was talking talking about you guys being...whatever you are...with each other...what exactly is that?”

  
  


“Uhh...” Stiles tried, and exchanged looks with Lydia. “We're...dating?”

  
  


Lydia nodded and they both turned back to Melissa. “Except we just haven't been on a date... yet.”

  
  


He quickly interjected, “But I asked her on one!”

  
  


“That's true!” Lydia pointed at him while keeping her eyes on Melissa.

  
  


Melissa nodded in response. “I'm going to be honest, I've been rooting for you guys for a long time. I just...I can't help but feel like this is just a repeat of Allison.” Melissa quickly corrected herself, “Not that I'm saying you're like Allison, Lydia. It's just...there's a baby involved...again...I feel like it's just the same plot with different characters.”

  
  


“The difference, Mom, is that Dominic wasn't mine. This baby-”

 

“We don't know that.” Lydia shook her head. She knew what she told him, but she didn't feel like he was helping the situation with his mom. Especially after Lydia had told her she had no idea who the father was, she didn't want it to seem like she had been lying.

  
  


“You may not, but I do.” He was looking at her as he spoke, but then turned back to Melissa. “I don't know how or why, but I  _know._ ”

  
  


Melissa nodded as she took in the information. “Okay.” She took a deep breath. “Okay...Well...in that case....I'm happy for you.” Lydia gave her a small smile. “Have a good night-uh..”She shook her head slightly as she realized what she'd just said. “Not  _too_ good of a night though...we do have curious children in the house.”

  
  


Lydia blushed and looked down while Stiles closed his eyes and nodded, and Melissa seemed just as weirded out by the conversation as the teenagers.

  
  


Melissa closed the door behind her and Lydia took a deep breath. “So...Allison's letter...” She changed the topic quickly.

  
  


“Yeah...” Stiles said softly as he looked back at the envelope.

  
  


“Are you going to read it?”

  
  


Stiles stared at the envelope for a moment, contemplating his options before opening the drawer on the bedside table and tossing it in there. “Not tonight.” He wrapped his arms around her, and rolled backwards, pulling her completely onto the bed with him as she let out a small yelp and giggled.


	23. Sketchy Closets and Bad Trips

Kira ran her nails down Scott's bare back and her legs were hitched around his waist. Scott suddenly pulled away and Kira was left feeling dizzy.

"What's wrong?" She asked breathless. Scott sat up in the bed and looked around the room and Kira propped herself up on her elbows.

"I hear my phone." He told her and climbed off the bed. They both had stripped down to only their underwear, and Kira was beginning to feel exposed. She sat up and pulled her legs into her chest and rested her chin on one of her knees. Scott found his pants and the phone inside that was on vibrate. "Dad?" He answered after looking at the caller ID.

"Scott...I know it's late. I didn't wake you up did I?" Scott looked at the alarm clock and saw that it was nearly 3 am. "No..I was just hanging out at Kira's. What's up?"

The sheriff sighed. "I'm gong to pretend that 'hanging out' means that you were enjoying a nice cup of coffee and polite conversation across a very long table. We already have one pregnant teenager to worry about."

"Of course that's what I meant." He lied unconvincingly.

"Uh huh...Look...I'm at your teacher's house and I need your opinion on something. Do you think you can get over here?"

"I'll be right there. Text me the address.". Scott hung up and looked over at Kira.

"Did he find something? A clue as to what happened?"

Scott shrugged. "I don't know, but I'm about to go find out."

* * *

"He's with me." Noah vouched for Scott as he appeared at the door to the house. It was being guarded by an officer and blocked off by  _Crime Scene_  tape, which he easily slipped under as the officer stepped aside.

"Have they released the body yet?" Scott asked, assuming that was the reason his father had called him.

Stilinski shook his head. "Not yet, but the CDC gave us the all clear to search the house. I mean... I'm pretty sure their deaths are related to the supernatural somehow, but that doesn't mean that the motive isn't human, so we came in looking for anything that would make them targets... but..."

"But what?" Scott asked as the Sheriff led him into the master bedroom.

"One of my guys, found this door inside their closet." They stepped into the closet and behind a rack of clothes there was a door with a keypad on it. "Sketchy, right?"

"Just a little." Scott nodded.

"So, I started looking for any clues as to what the combination would be. We tried anniversaries, birthdays, but nothing was working."

"So, you want me to help you figure out the code? Because that seems more like a job for Stiles."

The Sheriff shook his head. "No, because then I got really curious and started digging through the sock drawer and that's when I found this." The sheriff pulled a tiny notebook out of his back pocket. There were two sets of numbers 7 digits long each. The first set had a line drawn through it.

"The door code?"

The sheriff nodded. "I had someone look into it. This system was installed a little over four months ago and the code is reset every three months. The first string of numbers must have been the first code and the second string is the current code."

"So you were able to get in?"

The sheriff nodded slowly, before punching in the code 5-3-2-7-3-9-2. A green light flashed and the door unlocked. "Something seemed familiar about the string of numbers, but it didn't click until I started looking around."

The sheriff pushed the door open, and Scott began again, "I still don't understand why you didn't call Stiles. This is more his territory, don't you think?"

"More than you know." The sheriff flipped on the light. The room was very small, space only enough for a desk and a chair. The desk was completely cleared except for a small lamp and the walls were bare aside from two pieces of paper hung on the wall.

"Holy shit." Scott mumbled as he stared at the wall.

"My sentiments exactly." The Sheriff said with a nod. "And that's when I realized why that number seemed familiar."

Scott looked back at the paper on the left. "Stiles's student ID number."

Stilinski nodded. "So, I looked into it." He looked up at the paper on the right. "The first number was Lydia's."

* * *

Lydia shot straight up in bed, taking huge gulps of air.

"What's wrong?" Stiles mumbled as he tried sitting up. He carefully put a hand on her back.

"He was after me."

"Who?"

"Peter...but..."She paused as she thought about it. "I don't know...it was strange."

"Was it like a premonition?" He asked, but Lydia was shaking her head before he could finish his sentence.

"No...it was like a memory...but...not?" She grasped his hand and looked at him. "You were there...I saw your face, but it was cloudy and you told me you were keeping me safe and to focus on your voice and that everything would be okay." She pinched the bridge of her nose . "There were so many screams, and they were so loud I thought my head was going to explode."

"It was just a nightmare." Stiles tried to reassure her, but Lydia bit her lip.

"I don't know. It didn't feel like my normal nightmares or premonitions. Like I said...it was sort of like a memory."

"It sounds like a bad trip." He murmured with his usual level of sarcasm.

Lydia suddenly gripped his hand tightly. "Oh my God." There were hazy flashes popping up in her mind.

_Sitting in front of a van talking to some guys she didn't know._

_Grabbing a cup sitting next to her._

_Noticing a smirk on one guy's face._

_Catching sight of herself in the window of the van, a white and yellow flower crown in her hair._

_Handing Stiles an empty cup. "Sorry..." She'd said._

" _I didn't have a drink." Stiles had replied._

_Stiles punching the guy who had smirked at her. "Did you drug her, you son of a bitch?"_

"Lydia!"

Lydia snapped out of the memory and dropped Stiles's hand. "I was drugged."

"What? When?"

She shook her head. "I don't know. You were there though... you punched the guy."

"I should have done a lot more than just punch him."

Lydia wrinkled her forehead as she tried to remember. "You wanted to. I think I stopped you."

"Do you remember anything else?"

"A van? And...I was wearing a flower crown."

"And this really happened?"

"I think so ." She put a hand to her head. "It's all really fuzzy."

There was a soft knock and a whispered "Stiles?"

"Yeah?" Stiles replied to his brother.

Scott opened the door slowly. "Good...you guys are up...Can you come downstairs? Dad and I need to talk to you about something."

Stiles and Lydia exchanged looks. What now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Stiles's student ID number in the show is KFBR392. I took the letters and translated them to the number that they would be on a phone, and that's how I got his ID number for the code in this chapter.


	24. Hers and Burgers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read the chapter, just wanted to throw this out there:
> 
> I know it's kind of early, but I started thinking about writing Christmas/Holiday fics... and I have this (possibly somewhat unrealistic) dream of doing a 25 days of Stydia Christmas one shot series and post like one story a day for the month of December... so I want/need prompts. I made a post on tumblr about it, so take a look :)
> 
>  
> 
> <https://eicartgeorge.tumblr.com/post/164718809006/send-me-stydia-christmasholiday-prompts>  
> 

“Our pictures?” Lydia asked Scott and Noah, just to make sure she heard them correctly.

 

“Yeah,” Scott replied. “The desk was empty...the pictures on the wall were the only thing in there.” Lydia, Scott, and the Sheriff all turned to Stiles.

 

“Stiles?” Noah said his name, waiting for him to go off with questions or theories.

 

Stiles looked back at Lydia, and bounced his leg. “I mean...” He began. “Were they at least good pictures?” The other three groaned.

 

“Stiles...” Noah said with an eye roll.

 

“What?! I don't know what you want me to say.”

 

“Well, can you think of a reason why your teacher would have your picture locked in a secret room with your student ID number as a code?”

 

 “Dad, don't you think that if I knew I would have already said something?” The sheriff sighed, knowing his son had a point, but still not appreciating the sarcasm this time.“Sorry! I’m just...I'm honestly not surprised with all of the crazy stuff that’s been happening lately, and the only people that probably know why it was there are dead.”

 

 “Maybe they knew what happened to us.” Lydia said softly, her hand absentmindedly rubbing her stomach. “Do you think they were killed because of it?”

 

 Scott shook his head slightly. “No… not exactly. I could smell their chemo signals left behind in the room.” He paused and looked back at the Sheriff and he gave the alpha a small nod. “I think they were killed because they wanted to kill you first.”

 

Lydia’s hand came out to grasp Stiles’s. “What? Why?”

 

 Noah shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t know. I wish I did.”

 

 “So,” Stiles began, as he rubbed small circles on Lydia’s hand in an effort to calm her down. “Do you think they were killed by someone who wanted to protect us?”

 

 The Sheriff raised his eyebrow suspiciously. “Why? What are you thinking?”

 

* * *

 

 

 Scott barreled into the almost empty classroom.

 

 “Scott-“ Peter started as he stood up and put a hand out. Scott grabbed the former alpha by his collar and slammed him against the wall. “What do you know?!”

 

 “Well, that’s a very broad question-“

 

Scott yanked him away and slammed him against the wall again. “Tell me what you know!” Peter looked over Scott’s shoulder and saw Lydia and Stiles walk into the room.

 

 Peter let out a deep breath. “How much do  _you_  know?”

 

 “Pretty much nothing.” Lydia told him with an eye roll.

 

 “Just that the Finches had pictures of Lydia and I in a room that only ever had two passwords that… coincidentally, or not… were mine and Lydia’s student ID numbers.”

 

 Peter gritted his teeth. “That’s all I know too.”

 

 “Stop lying!” Scott growled.

 

 “I’m not!” Peter yelled angrily, then took a deep breath. “I don’t know anything else.”

 

 Scott’s eyes narrowed. “But you know someone who does.”

 

 Peter didn’t make a move for several moments, but then he nodded.

 

 “Who?” Lydia asked him.

 

Peter shook his head. “I can’t.”

 

“Tell us!” Scott growled again, slamming him once more.

 

Peter opened his mouth, but no words came out. He shook his head again.

 

“Scott,” Lydia whispered. “I don’t think he can.”

 

“What do you mean?” He asked, but kept his eyes on Peter.

 

“I mean, I don’t think he physically  _can_. Something is stopping him.”

 

Scott looked Peter in the eye, trying to determine if he believed him or not. Finally deciding that he did, he slowly released the hold on Peter’s collar.

 

“You said you wanted to protect us.” Stiles spoke again. “What are you protecting us from?”

 

“I don’t know. She won’t tell me.”

 

“She?” Lydia questioned.

 

Peter shook his head. “I’m sorry. That’s all I can say.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Do you trust him?” Scott asked Stiles and Lydia.

 

“God, Scott…I don’t know.” Stiles sighed and ran a hand through his hair, then looked over at Lydia. “Are you okay, Lyds?”

 

“Huh?” Lydia looked up suddenly.

 

“You’re not eating your salad.”

 

“Oh,” She looked back, not realizing she’d just been poking at it for the past ten minutes instead of eating it. “It just wasn’t what I wanted.”

 

“Well, you should still eat it. You need to eat something.” She looked over at his plate with half of a burger still sitting there uneaten.

 

“Can I eat that?”

 

Stiles looked down at his food, then back at Lydia. “You want my hamburger?” She rubbed her lips together and nodded. “Um...I mean… sure, okay.”

 

Lydia happily took Stiles’s plate and handed him her salad.

 

“So…”Stiles began as he pushed the salad around on his plate. “I was thinking…remember how you thought you may have been drugged?”

 

 He looked up at Lydia who had just taken a large bite of her (well Stiles’s) hamburger. She nodded as she chewed her food, then swallowed. “Yeah. Why?”

 

 “Well, I was thinking… it probably won’t show up in a blood test, but depending on the drug, maybe it would show up in a hair test. We could at least find out what the drug was.”

 

She shrugged and took another bite of the burger. “Maybe.” She mumbled with her mouth full. “Are you going to drink that?” She asked pointing to Stiles's milkshake.

 

He let out a small chuckle before sliding it over to her. “Take it.” Stiles looked up at Scott, whose mind seemed to be somewhere else. “Hey, man. What's up?”

 

Scott shook his head. “Just thinking.”

 

“About what?”

 

“I'm wondering if it would be a good idea to follow to Peter and find out who it is that actually knows what's going on.”

 

“I don't know...”Stiles shook his head. “Whoever this person is, they somehow stopped Peter from saying anything about them. We don't know what they can do, so I don't think it's a good idea.”

 

“There may be people who are trying to kill you.” Scott sounded confused and upset. “You just want to sit back and do nothing?”

 

Stiles took a deep breath. “Honestly? This person seems to be doing a good job of keeping us safe at the moment. What if going after them puts us into more danger? I don't think we should do anything until we know more.”

 

“Lydia?” Scott asked, turning to the banshee to get her opinion.

 

Lydia looked up from the milkshake mid-slurp. “I'm sorry.” She said after she swallowed her drink. “I didn't catch what we were talking about.”

 

“Following Peter to get more information from the person who knows everything.”

 

Lydia shook her head. “No. Not a good idea. We don't know anything about her.”

 

“Except that's she's a  _her_.” Stiles commented.

 

“Well,” Scott argued. “Isn't that the point? If you were in the police and you were trying to catch an associate of a criminal, you'd follow them and have a stake out.”

 

“Yeah,” Stiles interjected. “You're talking about  _humans_  who are affected by  _guns_. Not supernatural creatures that can smell emotions and hear heartbeats fifty feet away. We don't know what kind of powers she has or if she could kill you with a flick of wrist. I mean...we still don't know how the Finches died.”

 

Scott sighed. “Deaton got the all clear to see Dr. Finch today.”

 

“Deaton!” Stiles said with some excitement. “There's an idea! Talk to him and find out if he knows what kind of creature could control what someone says. Get as much information as you can before going after them blind.”

 

“Okay, fine. You're right.” Scott reluctantly agreed just as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

 

* * *

 

Lydia walked into Stiles's bedroom, drying her hair once more. When she saw Stiles sitting on the bed with an envelope in his hand she took a step back out into the hallway, looked around for a moment, then walked back in.

 

“Okay, I think I'm having  _deja vu_.” She announced.

 

“What?” He asked looking up from the letter.

 

“Me, drying my hair... you, looking at the envelope...”

 

“Oh...”

 

Lydia groaned. “Stiles, just read it! I'll read mine too if it'll make you feel better.”

 

Stiles bit his thumbnail, as he weighed his options, and finally sighed. “Okay. Deal.”

 

Lydia found the unopened envelope with her name on it and sat down next to Stiles. “Do you want to read them at the same time, or do you want to go first?”

 

“Those are my only two options?”

 

“Yep.”

 

He sighed. “Same time.”

 

Stiles slowly opened the envelope and pulled out two pieces of paper.

 

_Stiles,_

 

_I don't know what to say, except..._

 

_I hate the way things were left between us. I can't begin to apologize for hurting you the way I did. You were honestly the first boy I truly loved, and I ruined it. I know you though, and if we were having this conversation in person, that would have been the part where you interrupted me and blamed yourself somehow. Just know...the way it all fell apart was on me. Nothing you did, or could have done, changed that in any way. I break things. I broke us... and I'm sorry._

 

_Dominic misses you and he drew you a picture that I'm including in the envelope._

 

_I want to tell you why I left, but I can't. Just know that I had a good reason and that Nic and I are both safe. Maybe our paths will cross again someday, but until then..._

 

_All my love,_

 

_Allison_

 

_P.S. I know that the subject of Lydia has always been a rocky one for us, but it's because I could always see how much she loved you (I know you loved her too) and how much better she was for you than me. She didn't come with baggage and you guys had a history. I knew you guys would never hurt me while we were together, and I'm sorry if my jealousy made things difficult for your friendship. Although, I have a feeling that now that I'm not there, you guys may realize how perfect you are for each other, and if so, I just want to let you know that you both deserve to be happy and I'm happy for you._

_P.P.S. If I totally misread that and just made things super awkward, then just forget I said anything._

 

Stiles let out a small laugh and looked at the other paper at Nic's stick figure drawing.

 

“What did yours say?” Lydia asked him.

 

“She apologized for ruining our relationship, said she couldn't say why she left, but that she had a good reason and that she and Nic were safe. Then she gave us her blessing.” Lydia gave him a small smile. “What about yours?”

 

Lydia looked down at the letter, catching the phone number and the words  _T_ _ell no one._

 

“I'm sorry.” She told him as she grabbed his hand. “I can't tell you.”

 


	25. Silver and Cold

Lydia looked down at the address in her hand, then back up at the wooden building in front of her.

  
  


“Is this it?” She heard next to her. Lydia looked over at Kira in the passenger’s seat, then unbuckled with a shrug.

  
  


“I guess so.” She stepped out into the dry Texas heat. The restaurant bar was sort of out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by stretches of road and empty land on either side.

  
  


“Why couldn’t we tell Stiles and Scott where we were going again?” Kira asked from behind the banshee.

  
  


“Because she told us not to.”

  
  


“Who is  _she_? I still don’t know why we came.”

  
  


Lydia opened the door and was met with the strong scent of beer that nearly made her gag.

  
  


“Oh, God… are you going to puke again?” Kira asked worriedly. “Because if you do, I may puke again.”

  
  


“Kira…Please stop saying ‘puke'. It’s not helping.”

  
  


“Sorry.”

  
  


Lydia walked up to the bar and an older woman turned around and looked the two girls up and down. “You need to be 21 to sit at the bar. Can I see your IDs?”

  
  


“We’re not 21.” Lydia told her. “And we don’t want to sit at the bar. We’re looking for Silver.”

  
  


The lady sighed and cocked her head to a table a few feet away. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.”

  
  


“What’s Silver?” Kira asked quietly, but panicked. “Is that code for drugs? Did we drive to Texas to get drugs?” Her pitch became higher with each question.

  
  


“Kira!” Lydia yelled under her breath. “Calm down.” Kira took a deep breath. “Why would I drive to Texas to get drugs, when we could have just driven downtown?” Lydia smirked when Kira’s eyes widened.

  
  


“Lydia?” A voice said from behind her. Lydia turned around to see the brunette in jeans and a tank top, a small apron wrapped around her waist. The strawberry blonde rose quickly from her chair.

  
  


“Allison!” She mumbled before hugging her tightly. Allison smiled brightly and looked over Lydia’s head to see Kira at the table.

  
  


“Hey, Kira.”

  
  


“Allison? Is it really you?” Kira stepped slowly over to the werewolf.

  
  


Allison shrugged. “It's actually Arian now. I changed my name.” Allison turned back to Lydia. “I’m so glad you called me. You took such a long time, I was worried you weren’t going to.”

  
  


Lydia thought back to the letter she’d received.

 

  
  


_**Lydia,** _

  
  


_**Call this number. Ask for Silver. Please tell no one. Especially not Stiles.** _

  
  


“ _What do you mean you can’t tell me?”_

  
  


“ _It’s literally only one line and it says “tell no one”.” Stiles shook his head. ”I’m sorry.” Lydia apologized. “There’s just nothing to tell.”_

  
  


_He sighed. “Fine.”_

  
  


“ _You’re mad.”_

  
  


“ _Yeah…a little…” He rolled his eyes. They sat in silence for several minutes before he felt her lips on his neck. “Lydia…” He tried to protest, but her lips were slowly making him forget why he was mad in the first place._

  
  


  
  


“Well, it took me a few weeks before I actually read the letter and then, I just didn’t have time to call when nobody was around. Things have been…hectic to say the least.”

  
  


“Hectic? What did I miss?”

  
  


Lydia exchanged looks with Kira. “Just… school stuff.” Lydia said, as Kira did a bad job of hiding her confusion and surprise. “You know…finishing high school and deciding what college to go to.”

  
  


“Really?” Allison asked happily, ignoring Kira’s look, hoping everything would be explained later. “Where are you going to go?”

  
  


Lydia smiled. “Stanford.”

  
  


“Not the East coast?”

  
  


Lydia shook her head. “No, I decided it was better to stay in California.”

  
  


“ _But people are trying to kill you here!” Kira was just a_ tiny  _bit concerned._

  
  


“ _What if people are trying to kill us wherever we go?” Lydia posed. “At least here, we’ll have a pack to protect us.”_

  
  


“ _And some sort of guardian angel.” Scott rolled his eyes. “Or angel of death.”_

  
  


_Stiles sighed. “So far it looks like they’ve only gone after the bad guys. If they start going after innocents, that’s when it becomes our problem.”_

  
  


“What about you and Stiles? Are you guys friends again? Are you and Aiden still together?” Allison asked.

  
  


Kira bit her lip and look down to hide a blush.

  
  


Lydia shook her head. “Aiden and I broke up right after you left.”

  
  


“What happened?”

  
  


Lydia sighed. “Stiles showed up drunk at my doorstep and I let him seep on the couch while Aiden and I were in my room…but instead of waking up in my bed next to Aiden, I woke up on the couch next to Stiles." She waved her hand in front her face. "It was because of the stupid sleepwalking stuff," She took a deep breath, "But I sort of lied by omission unintentionally, Aiden got mad, and we broke up.”

  
  


Allison frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  
  


The banshee shrugged. “Don’t be. I’m not. “

  
  


“I can see that.” The brunette smiled. “You look so happy. You’re practically glowing.”

  
  


Kira coughed and cleared her throat. Lydia and Allison both turned to her. “Sorry.” She apologized.

  
  


“Okay…what’s going on? What aren’t you telling me?”

  
  


“What do you mean?” Lydia asked, feigning oblivious.

  
  


“Don’t do that.” Allison sighed. “Look, Lydia, you’re really good at keeping your heartbeat under control. I wouldn’t know that you were lying if Kira’s heart wasn’t practically beating out of her chest.”

  
  


“What?” Kira’s voice when high-pitched. “What are you talking about?”

  
  


Lydia sighed and turned back to Allison. “I’ll tell you later. I promise.”

  
  


“Okay.” Allison nodded after a moment. “Do you guys want something to eat? I still have a few hours left of my shift, and then we can go back to my place.”

  
  


“Do you have hamburgers?” Lydia asked with a hint of excitement.

  
  


Kira smiled nervously. “She  _really_ likes hamburgers now.”

  
  


Allison raised an eyebrow in suspicion, but nodded. “Yeah. I’ll get them to make you one. Fries too?”

  
  


“Yes, please!” Her eyes widened in glee.

  
  


Allison laughed and walked away and Lydia turned to give Kira a look.

  
  


“Sorry.” The kitsune apologized again, as she bit her lip in embarrassment.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Here it is! Home sweet home.” Allison announced as she opened the door to her small apartment.

  
  


“Ari, is that you?”

  
  


“Yeah, I have some friends with me!” Allison called back, then turned to the two girls. “Everyone here knows me as Arian, so...” She looked pointedly at Kira. “Don’t call me Allison.”

  
  


“Hey!” A blonde girl came around the corner with her hair pulled up into a messy bun. “I'm Carys, Ari's roommate.” Her southern, Texas drawl was very evident as she stuck her hand out to shake the new girls' hands.

  
  


“Lydia.” The strawberry blonde shook her hand. “This is Kira.”

  
  


Kira waved.

  
  


“Where's Nic?” Allison asked.

  
  


“He's asleep on the couch. Passed out during the second run-through of  _Monster's Inc_.”

  
  


“Thanks.” Allison smiled. “I'm going to take them to my room. If Nic wakes up, just bring him in there.”

  
  


“Will do.” She nodded with a smile.

  
  


“I'm sorry.” Lydia shook her head and squinted at the girl. “You look really familiar. Have we met before?”

  
  


Carys smiled and shook her head. “No, I don't think so.”

  
  


Lydia apologized. “Sorry, my mistake.”

  
  


“Don't sweat it! I guess I just have one of those faces.”

  
  


“Yeah...”

  
  


“Come on.” Allison urged and took them into her room.

  
  


“So, it's just you, Carys, and Dominic?” Kira asked.

  
  


“It's just  _Nic_ , now...and yeah. She works the night shift, so she watches him while I'm at work. He pretty much entertains himself, so the only thing she really has to do is make an extra plate of food for him when she makes lunch.”

  
  


Lydia nodded before taking a deep breath. “I have a ton of questions for you-”

  
  


“I have some for you too...and you owe me an explanation for the weirdness back at the bar.”

  
  


Lydia sighed, while Kira remained quiet. “You're right.”

  
  


“ _It's noticeable. Isn't it?”_

  
  


“ _Is what noticeable?” Stiles asked as he continued searching for his tie through the dresser drawers._

  
  


“ _This!” Lydia screeched. He turned to look at her pointing at her practically non-existent belly._

  
  


“ _What are you talking about?”_

  
  


“ _Hello, Stiles! There's a_ baby _in here, and it's graduation day and everyone is going to notice.”_

  
  


“ _Lyds...Sweetie...no one is going to notice anything. You'll be wearing a robe for the entire day.”_

  
  


“ _So you're saying that if I wasn't wearing a robe everyone would think I was fat?! Thanks!”_

  
  


“ _What? No...I didn't say that!” He went to her and grabbed her hands and held them in his. “Look, you are beautiful. Okay? And you're the valedictorian! No one is going to see anything else.”_

  
  


_Her bottom lip began to quiver. “Really?”_

  
  


“ _Oh...don't cry. Please don't cry.”_

  
  


“ _I'm sorry!” She whined before covering her mouth running back into bathroom._

  
  


_Stiles groaned. “God, I hope that mascara is water proof.”_

  
  


_Melissa gave a couple of knocks before opening the door, “Hey!” She smiled. “How we doing in here?”_

  
  


_Stiles sighed. “We're in the middle of the second break-down of the day. And I can't find my tie.”_

  
  


“ _Where's Lydia?”_

  
  


“ _I'm...in...here...” She sobbed from the bathroom._

  
  


_Stiles closed his eyes and took a deep breath before pointing and repeating. “She's in there.”_

  
  


“ _Okay,” Melissa stepped fully into the room. “Stiles, go borrow a tie from your dad. I'll help Lydia.”_

  
  


_Stiles clasped his hands together and mouthed “Thank you.”_

  
  


“ _I...heard...that..”Lydia sniffled._

  
  


_Stiles widened his eyes at Melissa, and she stifled a laugh. “Go.” She whispered._

  
  


“ _Thirty more weeks.” Stiles mumbled before leaving the room._

  
  


“So,” Lydia began as she sat down on the bed next to Allison. “You knew about the sleep-walking.”

  
  


“Of course. You carved a Japanese kanji into my counter.”

  
  


“Right.” Lydia chuckled. “Well, the sleep-walking was accompanied with vivid dreams, but a lot of the time, I couldn't remember the dreams...I just remembered they happened...until one day that I had a dream about Stiles getting shot, and we realized he had a healed bullet wound.”

  
  


“What?” Allison was definitely not expecting that revelation. “When did he get shot?”

  
  


“He doesn't remember....just like...”She sighed and reached into her bag and pulled out a slip of paper. “Just like I don't remember this.”

  
  


_Lydia was laying on Stiles's bed in a tight fitting Tshirt and pajama pants, reading a book with her finger tracing circles on her tummy through the cotton. Stiles looked over from his desk to watch her._

  
  


“ _What are you staring at?” Lydia asked him without looking up from her book._

  
  


“ _You.” He told her simply. He took a few moments, before saying, “I don't want you to take this negatively, but I just noticed that you have the_ tiniest _bit of a belly.”_

  
  


_The banshee smiled, still never moving her eyes away from the page. “I know. I can feel it.” They were quiet for another moment before she tore her eyes away from the book and looked at him, “Do you want to feel?”_

  
  


“ _Really?”_

  
  


_Lydia smiled and nodded. “Yeah...really.”_

  
  


“ _Right now?”_

  
  


“ _You don't have t-”_

  
  


“ _No, I do! I mean...” He began as he stood. “I don't_ have _to, but I_ want  _to.”_

  
  


“ _Well, then come here.” She said it almost impatiently, but with a hint of a smile._

  
  


_Stiles sat down on the bed and reached his hand out slowly until was on her stomach._

  
  


“ _You know,” He began. “It's around this time, that if you touch your stomach, the baby will move in response to you, because it's reflexes are starting to develop. You just may not be able to feel them yet.”_

  
  


“ _I did know that.” She told him. “And you've been reading the book.” She giggled._

  
  


“ _Guilty.”_

  
  


“ _I told you that you'd like it.”_

  
  


“You probably knew already.” Lydia told the brunette as she held the ultrasound picture out to her.

  
  


Allison still seemed surprised as she took the sonogram from her. “I thought I was hearing things.” She admitted. “How far along are you?”

  
  


“ _It looks like you're about twelve weeks now.” The ultrasound technician told them as she rubbed the wand and cold gel across Lydia' belly. Both Stiles and Lydia's eyes were glued to the screen._

  
  


“ _It looks like a baby.” Stiles noted._

  
  


“ _That typically happens.” Lydia rolled her eyes and chuckled._

  
  


“ _And it is for sure just one baby, so I hope you weren't expecting more.”_

  
  


“ _Oh no. Definitely not.” Stiles shook his head._

  
  


“ _We weren't even expecting_ one _.” Lydia joked._

  
  


_The tech chuckled. “Well, twelve weeks means that you're at the end of your first trimester, so now is probably a good time to start telling people or...thinking about telling them.”_

  
  


“ _I think everybody knows already.” Stiles said._

  
  


“ _Yeah” Lydia agreed. “It's really hard to keep secrets around our friends. They're too attentive.”_

  
  


“I'm about thirteen weeks now.” She said carefully.

  
  


Allison looked confused for a moment, obviously doing the math in her head. “Wait...thirteen weeks? That means you were pregnant when I left.”

  
  


“Yeah... it looks that way.”

  
  


“But...Aiden was at school...so...who's the-”

  
  


“I don't know,” Lydia said confidently, but then added”...for sure....”

  
  


“What does that mean?”

  
  


Lydia took a deep breath. “Like I said...I don’t really remember, so it’s really just a feeling but-“

  
  


“It’s Stiles…” Allison said without looking up. “Isn’t it?”

  
  


Lydia nodded slowly. “I swear, Allison, we didn’t…I don’t know how-“

  
  


“It’s fine, Lydia.” Allison gave her a small smile. ”Really.”

  
  


“But-“ Lydia began, but was cut off by a knock at the door.

  
  


“Sorry ya’ll,” Carys said as she opened the door. “I don’t mean to interrupt, but I was just thinking about something. Lydia,” she turned to the strawberry blonde. “Have you ever done any research on Jack the Ripper?”

  
  


“What’s Jack the Ripper?” Allison asked.

  
  


“It sounds like the title of a scary movie.” Kira mumbled.

  
  


Lydia closed her eyes as she tried to remember how she knew that name. “He was a serial killer in the 1800s, right?”

  
  


“Yeah!” Carys replied enthusiastically. “Well…my family is kind of famous because of him. He was arrested one night after he attempted to kill a woman named Mary Kelly. If you look him up, you’re bound to find pictures of her. My full name is Carys Kelly. She was a-lotta-greats-grandmother of mine, and people tell me that I look a lot like her.” Carys shrugged. “I just thought maybe that’s why I looked familiar.”

  
  


Lydia nodded. “Yeah, maybe!”

  
  


“Okay, well that’s it. Sorry about intruding again.”

  
  


“She seems nice.” Kira said once Carys was gone.

  
  


“She is.” Allison agreed. “She’s been a life saver since moving out here.”

  
  


“Speaking of which,” Lydia replied. “I need some questions answered now.”

  
  


Allison nodded, “Go ahead.”

  
  


“What happened? Why did you leave?”

  
  


“That's difficult to answer.”

  
  


“Well, I ask the difficult questions.” Lydia fired back. “You left Beacon Hills, you changed your name-”

  
  


“Yeah,” Kira interrupted, “Why did you choose Arian anyway?”

  
  


“It means Silver.” Lydia answer the kitsune. “In Welsh.”

  
  


Allison sighed. “When choosing a new identity, it's better not to change yourself too much, otherwise it gets too difficult to remember. Arian has the same meaning as Argent, and it's similar enough to Allison that it was easy to adapt to.”

  
  


“You still haven't answered my question.” Lydia snapped.

  
  


The brunette turned to the strawberry-blonde, and glanced her up and down. The flowy shirt she was wearing made it impossible to tell if she had a bump yet. “Are you keeping the baby?”

  
  


“Allison-”

  
  


“Answer the question.”

  
  


“Not until you answer mine!”

  
  


Allison bit her lip. “I was approached by a man that said I was in danger.”

  
  


“Why?” Lydia asked before Allison could take a breath.

  
  


“I don't know.”

  
  


“Who was the guy?”

  
  


“No clue.”

  
  


Lydia groaned in frustration. “If you weren't going to tell us anything, why did you ask us to come here?”

  
  


“Because you need to know something.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Do you think it's true?” Kira asked Lydia as they got back into her car.

  
  


“I don't know.” Lydia shrugged as she pulled out her phone and called Scott. “But I'm not taking any chances.”

  
  


“Hello?” Scott answered on the third ring.

  
  


“Scott, Kira and I just learned something, and I'm not sure if it's true, but if it is, you need to know.”

  
  


“What is it?” He asked, and edge of worry to his voice.

  
  


Lydia took a deep breath. “Malia's alive.”


	26. Truths and Texas

Lydia and Kira were sat in the McCall-Stilinski living room. Stiles stood off to the side with his arms folded as Scott paced back and forth. The alpha hadn’t said anything to the two girls. He would stop, open his mouth, close it, continue pacing... then stop and open his mouth again a few moments later. Lydia was having a difficult time avoiding Stiles’s amused face as he watched his brother, and the sight had her biting back a laugh.

 

“I-“ Scott started, but quickly stopped, and Stiles threw his hand over his mouth to stop the laugh that was threatening to bubble up inside of him.

 

“Scott,” Lydia finally began. “What do you want to know?”

 

“Everything!” he blurted. “I want to know what possessed you to leave town without telling anyone-“

 

“I told Kira,” Lydia inserted.

 

Scott turned to Stiles as he continued his angry tirade. “I want to know why you’re not pissed at them-“

 

Stiles shrugged. “She doesn’t owe me any explanations.”

 

He wasn't hearing any of their answers as he kept going, “I want to know how you know that Malia’s alive…did you see her-“

 

“No.”

 

“-did someone tell you-“

 

“Yes.”

 

“-and if someone told you, who was it-“

 

“It was Allison.”

 

“-and how do you know that you can trust them-“

 

“I don’t know if we can.”

 

“-and then I want to know-“ Scott finally stopped his long string of questions and looked at the two girls, then to Stiles... who was suddenly not laughing anymore. “Wait...what did you say?”

 

Kira looked down at her hands, while Lydia stood up and looked directly at Stiles. “My letter from Allison was a phone number. I called her back last week and she asked me to meet her where she works…in Texas. That’s where Kira and I were.”

 

“Did she tell you why she left?” Stiles thought that he'd asked it, but when he saw Lydia turn to Scott, he realized no words had left his mouth.

 

Lydia shook her head. “No. She said she couldn’t, but she told us that Malia was alive. She wouldn’t tell us how she knew or _why_ she decided to tell us, she just said that Malia wasn’t an alpha anymore.”

 

“Well we knew that-“ Scott said, but Stiles cut him off.

 

“Did we? You heard that from Peter who also told you he killed her. And obviously that wasn’t true.”

 

“And as you keep reminding us,” Lydia said with a sigh, “Peter can’t be trusted.”

 

Scott clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking in the process.

 

“Hey, buddy...” Stiles said slowly, his eyes on his brother’s hand. “Maybe we need to take a beat-” Scott walked quickly toward the door, but Stiles caught up with him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Scott!” Scott stopped and took a breath. “Where are you going?” Stiles asked him.

 

“I'm going to go find Peter, and I'm going to make him tell me the truth.”

 

“Let's think about this, you don't even know where Peter lives...” Stiles voice trailed off as he noticed the guilty look on the alpha's face. “You do know... because you followed him. After we said we wouldn't.”

 

“Stiles, what do you expect? I've got a town of people to protect-”

 

“Yeah, people that may possibly be trying to kill me and my girlfriend!”

 

“I didn't do anything,” Scott told him. “I followed him, I didn't even go inside, and nobody came in or out except for him. Nothing happened.”

 

Stiles shook his head, and Lydia spoke up, “So you were getting mad at me and Kira, but you didn't tell anyone you were going to follow Peter?”

 

Scott shrugged. “I told Liam and Isaac.”

 

“Let me guess, they were with you.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “And where were we?”

 

Scott looked like he was a little child getting in trouble with his parents. “You had a doctor's appointment.”

 

“Are you serious?!” Lydia practically screeched. “I'm making sure my child is healthy and you're off endangering all of us?!”

 

“If I thought it would put you in danger I wouldn't have done it.”

 

“But you didn't tell us you did it either!” Stiles snapped angrily.

 

Lydia turned to Stiles, “So what are you keeping from us?”

 

“What?”

 

“Kira and I went off to Texas, Scott is spying on former alphas who are trying to protect us-”

 

“So he says.” Scott injected quickly.

 

“So, what's your big secret that you've been hiding? We may as well get it all out in the open.”

 

“I'm not keeping anything from anybody! You know everything I know.”

 

“Bullshit!” Lydia quickly countered. “Scott was right, before...you didn't get mad about us not telling you about Allison and Texas. Which means, you must be keeping a secret and knew that you had no room to judge. So what is it?”

 

“I...” Stiles sighed. “It's nothing like what you're thinking...it's supposed to be a surprise.”

 

Lydia's expression softened. “A surprise?”

 

“I mean... I guess now is as good of a time as any.” He reached for his phone and pulled up a picture of a house and handed it to Lydia.

 

“What is this?”

 

“It turns out my...Claudia....did something right. My dad didn't even know it existed, and I didn't find out until about two weeks ago...”

 

“Stiles!” Lydia cut him off as she looked back down at the picture in her hand trying to clear her thoughts. “What the hell am I looking at?”

 

“It's a house-”

 

“I got that.”

 

“It's my house.... _our_ house.”

 

“What?” she asked barely above a whisper as tears filled her eyes, and she looked back at the cute house pictured in front of her.

 

“I got a letter a couple of weeks ago about contacting somebody about this house. I asked my dad and he didn't know, but we went to the bank and spoke to somebody there who said that when I turned 18, the house officially fell into my name. Dad doesn't know when she bought it, it must have been after she left us. While you guys were in Texas, I went to look at it to see if it was even worth keeping, and God...Lydia...it's perfect. It's between Stanford and USF, but it's closer to Stanford. It's in a nice neighborhood, and it looks like a lot of families live there. It's got 3 bedrooms, so the baby can have their own room and we can have a guest room, or a roommate, or roommates if we find a couple... or we can sleep in separate rooms if that would make you feel bette-” Lydia stopped him from rambling by kissing him.

 

“I love you,” she told him as she broke the kiss, and he rested his forehead on hers... neither of them opening their eyes, both just savoring the moment.

 

“I love you, too.”

 

Stiles and Lydia were broken out of their embrace when they heard Scott's motorcycle. Stiles looked around before realizing his brother had sneaked out the door while they were distracted.

 

“Sonofabitch!”

 

“Should we follow him?” Lydia asked quietly.

 

Stiles sighed. “No...but I _am_ going to kill him.” He looked back at Lydia, realizing she was still holding his phone and had gone back to staring at the picture of the house. He lightly nudged her arm with his. “Did you want to go look at it?”

 

“Really?” she asked, her eyes lighting up.

 

“Well, it's either that or chase after Scott, and I'm not really in the chasing mood right now.” He looked over Lydia's head to see the kitsune still standing there. “Uh, Kira...did you want to...”

 

“Oh! Um...” She looked around awkwardly. If Stiles and Lydia left, she would be alone in a house that wasn't hers, but seeing as how her boyfriend had just run off to talk to Peter about his dead former girlfriend, who was now his former dead former girlfriend...”I think I'm just going to go home.”

 

“Are you sure?” Lydia asked her. “Stiles and I won't mind if you come with us.” She suddenly had an idea and looked back at Stiles before turning back to Kira. “If there are three bedrooms...you're going to USF just like Stiles, and Scott's going to be like two hours away at UC Davis...”

 

“Kira,” Stiles confirmed what Lydia was suggesting. “If you want the third bedroom, you'd be a great roommate.”

 

Kira smiled brightly. “Really?! Okay! Then...yeah... I'll go with you to check it out!”

 

Lydia gave Stiles's hand a small squeeze in gratitude. “Let me just pee first.”

 

“Texas, huh?” Stiles asked Kira once Lydia was gone.

 

“Yeah...Are you okay?”

 

“Yeah,” Stiles shrugged. “Why wouldn't I be?”

 

“You just...didn't say anything when we were talking about Allison.”

 

He shook his head. “There's nothing to talk about. I'm just glad everybody's okay.”

 

“Ready!” Lydia said in a sing-song voice as she came back into the room. “Let's go!”

 


	27. Kitchens and Magic

“I almost didn't see it the first time,” Stiles admitted as he pulled into the driveway. “It was like my eyes just skimmed right over it.”

 

“No...I see what you mean.” Lydia didn't need for him to explain.

 

“It looks like someone's been keeping up with the yard,” Kira said as she surveyed the land in front of her.

 

“Yeah,” Stiles said thoughtfully. “I noticed that too.”

 

The three of them got out of the jeep and walked toward the front door. Lydia turned around to look at the yards across the street with kids playing on the front lawns, and her hand went to her stomach as she imagined her own child playing on this lawn.

 

“Lyds,” she heard Stiles say her name, and she turned to see the front door open. “Come on.” He tilted his head toward the door and Lydia smiled before following him inside. “So, this is the living room, obviously,” Stiles pointed out to the two girls. “The master bedroom and what would probably be the nursery are down that hall, and then Kira, your room would be on the other side of the house.”

 

“I'll go take a look,” Kira smiled before heading off in the direction Stiles had pointed her.

 

“Come on,” he told Lydia as he led her the opposite direction. “So, this is our room.” He opened the door to reveal the master bedroom and Lydia looked around. “And then, this...” he walked across the hall and opened the other door. “This would be the baby's room.” Lydia felt tears welling up in her eyes as everything suddenly became more real. “I was thinking..” Stiles continued, “the crib could go here, and then we could have a rocking chair here, and then- Lyds...are you okay?”

 

Lydia sniffed and nodded. “Sorry...hormones. It's perfect, Stiles.”

 

He smiled and kissed her gently, before they heard Kira gasp, “Oh my God! This kitchen is amazing!”

 

Stiles pulled away and chuckled, “Let's go see the kitchen.”

 

“Sounds good.” Lydia followed him back down the hall and toward Kira's voice.

 

“Wow!” Lydia said in surprise as she looked around the room. “Did you already do some work in here?”

 

“What? No,” Stiles replied with a hint of confusion. “I just saw it for the first time two days ago. I wanted to make sure it was what you wanted to do before I put any work into it. Why?”

 

“It's just...” Lydia looked around. “The appliances are all updated.”

 

“They are?” Stiles looked around.

 

“Yeah, this refrigerator is brand new. The model just came out a couple of months ago.”

 

Stiles raised an eyebrow. “Are you reading appliance catalogs now?”

 

Lydia sighed, “I went down a rabbit hole. I'm not proud of it.” Stiles chuckled and Lydia bit her lip. “It's weird though...right? I mean... new appliances in a house that you didn't know was yours. Who knows how long it's been empty for.”

 

“Maybe there was somebody in charge of keeping up with it. Maybe it's whoever has been doing the yardwork?”

 

“Maybe...” Lydia replied, unconvinced.

 

Stiles sighed. “Do you think it's a trap of some sort?”

 

Lydia shrugged. “I don't know what to think. The timing could seem a little too perfect, if you think about it... or maybe it's just all a coincidence.”

 

“I've never liked coincidences.”

 

Lydia took a deep breath. “I want to live here, Stiles. This place is perfect, and I can see us living here for longer than just college. I can see us raising our family here. I just... I think we need to do some more research before moving everything in.”

 

“Okay,” Stiles nodded, “But remember, school starts in August. We can't move into the dorms together because we aren't going to the same school, so finding somewhere that we can commute from is our only option. And everything else I've looked at is way out of our price range. Since collectively our price range is zero dollars.”

 

“I know...I get it...” she let out a sigh, “I don't know...maybe if Deaton comes by he can tell us if there's anything supernatural about the house.”

 

“Okay,” Stiles nodded.

 

“Except,” Kira began absentmindedly, “the people who were trying to kill you weren't supernatural.” The kitsune glanced up and saw the looks Stiles and Lydia were giving her. “I uh...I probably shouldn't have said that out loud... huh?”

 

* * *

 

“Well, well, well,” Stiles began as he walked inside his house and saw Scott sitting on the couch. “Look who's home.”

 

“Where have you guys been?” Scott asked.

 

“Uh, I think we could ask you the same question,” Lydia cut in.

 

Scott looked confused for a moment. “I've been here.”

 

“Okay, Scott. Don't lie.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “We know you left. It wasn't like you were trying to hide it.”

 

“I don't know what you're talking about. I've been here the whole time.”

 

“No,” Stiles argued, exasperated, “you haven't. I don't know what you're trying to prove. We know you left. We all heard you drive away.”

 

“I didn't go anywhere,” Scott insisted.

 

Stiles gritted his teeth in frustration, then opened his mouth to yell, but Lydia spoke instead.

 

“Scott,” she said slowly. “What's the last thing you remember of our conversation?”

 

“What conversation?”

 

“The one we were having earlier, before you _didn't_ go anywhere.”

 

Scott shook his head. “We never had a conversation. I've been waiting here all day for you guys to get home and tell me what's going on with this whole Malia thing.”

 

Stiles, Kira, and Lydia all exchanged glances for a moment before Stiles finally said, “Okay, I think now's the time to call Deaton.”

 

* * *

 

“So, you think I went to see Peter again?” Scott asked as he sat on the exam table.

 

His three friends nodded, before Deaton spoke up.

 

“So, if it was some sort of head injury, it's already healed...and then if it's healed, I would think your memories would have returned.”

 

“So, then what do you think caused it?” Stiles asked the question they all wanted to.

 

“My best guess?” Deaton asked with a small shake of his head. “Magic.”

 

“ _Magic_ _,”_ Stiles repeated.

 

Deaton nodded. “And very powerful magic at that, if it's strong enough to erase 5 hours of Scott's memory.”

 

“But it should stop at the five hours, right?” Scott wondered aloud. “I mean... I'm not going to forget anything else...right? Wait...what if that's what happened to you guys!” Scott turned to Stiles and Lydia. “What if you had some sort of magic spell put on you and it slowly ate away at your memories until you forgot everything?”

 

“I don't know...” Lydia shook her head slowly.

 

“What?” Stiles asked as he turned to his girlfriend. “You don't believe in magic?”

 

“No...it's not that...it's just... I remember _some_ stuff. It's not like I've forgotten it all.”

 

“You remember,” Stiles agreed, “But I don't.”

 

“Maybe there's two different reasons why we can't remember anything,” Lydia suggested. “Maybe you two had a spell put on you, and maybe I'm the one who hit my head.”

 

“Or,” Kira spoke up, “Maybe you all had spells put on you, but Lydia did something to trigger her memories.”

 

“But we haven't done anything different.” Stiles shook his head. “I mean the only thing that's different is that Lydia's...” Stiles slowly turned to look at Lydia. “...pregnant.”

 

“What? You think I'm remembering things because I'm pregnant? I've heard of pregnancy brain messing with your memory, but it's supposed to make you forget things...not remember them.”

 

“Okay fine.” Stiles threw his hands up. “Maybe magic has nothing to do with anything. Deaton, we need to come up with another solution.”

 

“I've told you what I think caused Scott's memory loss,” Deaton shrugged.

 

“Well, then what do you think caused ours?” Lydia asked softly.

 

Deaton turned to look at the banshee as she rubbed a thumb across her belly.

 

He shook his head gently. “I'm sorry, Lydia. I don't know. But, I don't think it has anything to do with what caused Scott's.”

 

Lydia nodded and bit her lip, and Stiles looked over at her. “Lyds?”

 

“I'm sorry,” she mumbled before walking briskly out of the room.

 

Stiles looked back at the remaining people in the room. “She's been a little emotional lately.”

 

“You don't say!” Scott quipped sarcastically.

 

Stiles shot him a middle finger before walking out of the room to find Lydia.

 

* * *

 

“Hey,” he said softly when he found her in the bathroom, the door open.

 

“Hey,” she whispered back as she sniffled. “God...I hate crying. I feel like it makes me look weak.”

 

“Hey! Crying doesn't make you weak. You're a badass banshee, Lydia Martin.” Stiles sighed. “And you're pregnant. Which makes you even more of a badass.”

 

Lydia let out a small laugh, and looked up at Stiles's reflection in the mirror. “I love you.”

 

“I love you too.” Lydia suddenly got a look on her face, like she was trying to figure something out. “What?” Stiles asked.

 

“Banshee...” she whispered.

 

“Wait...what?”

 

“The first person to call me a banshee, was Argent's uncle. Do you remember?” She turned to face him.

 

Stiles nodded slowly as he remembered the interaction. “Yeah...I remember he also called us ghosts and accused us of kidnapping him and blowing up his truck.”

 

She nodded. “Right...what if we did?”

 

“Um...” Stiles scratched his head. “What?”

 

“I think we need to talk to him.”

 

“Okay....yeah...sure...whatever you say...but um...one thing... he had Alzheimer's two years ago, and he wasn't all there then...what makes you think we'll be able to get anything out of him now?”

 

“I don't know. We may get nothing, but we won't know unless we try.”

 


End file.
